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HOW WE RAISED 




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WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY THE AUTHOR OF 

HELEN'S BABIES." 



|fEW JO F^K. 

DERBY BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, 

27 Park Place. 

1877. 



/ 

HOW WE RAISED 

Our Baby, 






BY A BENEDICT, 



With an introduction by the author of 

"HELEN'S BABIES." 



C - 






J? e w Jo r^K . 
DERBY BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, 

27 Park Place. 

1877. 



1* 



Copyrighted by Derby Brothers, 

1877. 



DEDICATED 



EVERY WOMAN, 



WHO HAS, OR MAY HAVE THB CARE OF A BABY, AND 



EVERY MAN, 



WHO, IN HIS OWN HOME, OR BY HIS INFLUENCE 



IS IN ANY WAY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE 



WELFARE OF CHILDREN. 



THE AUTHOR- 



i]TOof>t/d¥ioj(. 



^HE cordiality whicn many tnousands of readers have manifested 
in their reception of a couple of little books about children, em- 
boldens the undersigned to say an earnest word or two in commend- 
ation of a book rather more serious than his own, but infinitely 
more valuable to those who are interested in children. For if the 
apparent regard of adults for little people be as genuine as the writer 
believes it to be, there is something not only undesirable but horri- 
ble in the fact that half of the human beings who are born into this 
world depart with a haste which no quantity of tears and parental 
love (as at present manifested in most families,) is able to retard. 
There is a certain mournful consistency in the course of humanity 
toward children ; the little beings are usually styled angels, so they 
are generally treated as if they possessed the supposed angelic fac- 
ulty of being superior to the earthly condition of food, raiment, air, 
light, cleanliness, and all else that contributes to healthfulness ; in 
their case, however, the jewel-like nature of consistency is not ap- 
parent. 

It is quite possible that a perusal of this volume may prevent a 
few hasty marriages, and may break some matches which if made in 
heaven, must have been arranged by apprentices ; in such case how- 
ever, the author is to be blessed and not cursed. 

The intensity of the paternal sentiment can certainly be affected in 
some manner which may prevent the multitude of infant deaths, and 
the frequency with which promising babies grow to be stupid men 
and women, criminals and even scribblers and congressmen, and 
books, like the one now before the reader, are better fitted than any 
other to begin the work of reformation. 

JOHN HABBERTON. 
New York, Sept. 25th, 1877. 



d o rf ¥ s( tf V g 



♦ ♦ 



Chapter I. -------- The Arrival 

Chapter II. The Doctor 

Chapter III. The Mothers-in-Law 

Chapter IV. A Multitude of Counsellors 

Chapter V. -------- The Christening 

Chapter VI. "Wanted — A Wet Nurse" 

Chapter VII. On the Trail 

Chapter VIII. - - - - - - Reports Progress 

Chapter IX. ------ Our Neighbor's Children 

Chapter X. -------- The Nursery 

Chapter XI. ------- The New Platform 

Chapter XII. - Johnnie 

Chapter XIII. - - Summary 



Chapter I. 



THE ARRIVAL. 



"\^E were married in Illinois, and I, Robert Mat- 
thews, brought my wife to New York. Though 
my acquaintances were many, it was long before Lena 
could feel exactly " at home," for she had lived for 
years with her parents in the old homestead. The 
youngest of seven children (some of whom had left to 
provide homes for themselves — the rest had " passed 
over to the majority,") every wish had been gratified. 
She undoubtedly had been petted, as the youngest 
will be, but she was not " spoilt." Inherited vigor 
of intellect, bodily energy, and a sunny disposition, 
sustained a not very strong body. 

My salary was a moderate one, but enough for 
two and a servant. The little money I had saved 
before marriage served to plainly furnish a small 
house. The cupboard, with the neatly arranged 
shelves, showing to the best advantage our little 



IO OUR COMFORTS. 



stock of dishes and cooking utensils ; the new black- 
walnut clock, the bright carpets and polished furni- 
ture ; the array of towels, napkins, sheets and pillow- 
cases in our linen closet; the round table in our 
sitting-room, with its bright crimson cover ; our 
collection of books — all pointed to comfort. We 
were comfortable. For the first year little was plan- 
ned for the future. The present was sufficient in its 
happiness. The ease with which we accommodated 
ourselves to circumstances, as I look back now, was 
wonderful. 

On Bridget's day out, the meals were none the 
worse for Lena's cooking. If we had griddle-cakes, 
we ate in the kitchen, Lena and I taking turns in 
supplying each other with hot cakes. (And, let me 
say here, that such light, hot, delicious, digestible 
cakes are not easily obtained, when the servant or 
dumb-waiter is compelled to carry them from room 
to room.) 

Concerts, lectures and entertainments we enjoyed 
occasionally, as the funds could be spared. Read- 



MY IGNORANCE. II 



ing, visiting, and receiving visitors, who naturally 
wished to see the " young couple," occupied our 
time — till the baby came. Mrs. Billings, our stylish 
neighbor, on hearing of the arrival, sent over her 
maid to inquire "how Mrs. M. was." Little Mrs. 
Jones, down the street, with a houseful of care and 
armsful of babies, stopped in "just« to see if she 
couldn't be of service ;" and of great service she 
was, putting things to rights and preparing break- 
fast for me, and some tea and panada for Lena. 
Bridget had left us in the lurch — anticipating the 
" arrival ;" and I, wholly ignorant of what ought to 
be done, had failed to solicit Doctor Namen's ser- 
vices in advance, as I should have done several 
weeks previously, and, at the last moment almost, 
was compelled to call in Doctor Lyons, who lived 
close by. Lena bore up bravely, with the assistance 
and encouragement of the doctor, but she was much 
exhausted, and here was a little crying baby to be 
washed, dressed and fed. 

By this time the sun had begun to throw his morn- 



12 THE DOCTOR. 



ing rays into the room, and the doctor, saying that 
bright light should not shine into the eyes of the 
little one, else they might become sore, put out the 
gaslight, and closed those shutters which directed 
the sun's rays into the baby's face, leaving space for 
sunlight to reach other parts of the room, and ad- 
vised nothing to be given to the infant to eat till the 
mother would feel strong enough to nurse it, unless 
the child was very hungry, shown by crying and 
sucking of fists. 

" If your wife was strong enough, Mr. Matthews, 
I should desire her," he said, " to attempt to nurse 
for her own and the baby's sake, within one hour 
after its birth. This early nursing hastens the milk, 
acts — from the so-called ' colostrum ' particles which 
the secretion contains at this time — as a laxative to the 
child, and prevents sometimes serious hemorrhages 
with the mother. In one sense you are fortunate in 
not having a nurse at this time — you are saved mean- 
ingless or hurtful suggestions. The ignorant woman 
believes in giving molasses and water, or a little gin, 



"beware of widows." 13 

etc. The more intelligent (?) will advise some medi- 
cine. Our best nurses come from the Schools for 
Nurses — connected with our hospitals. But few in 
number as yet, their services command a price too 
costly to the man with a small salary. If I had been 
aware of your situation, I might have found you a 
reliable woman, willing to work and follow out direc- 
tions ; but you must obtain some one for a day or 
two, till I can look around." 

The doctor kindly waited while I started out to 
hunt up a nurse ; met our washerwoman at the door ; 
and she, saying she would send up her sister, the 
Widow Flynn, a woman who had raised a family of 
her own, I was thoroughly satisfied, and reported at 
headquarters up-stairs. " Beware," said the doctor, 
as he took up his hat to leave — " beware of widows, 
and of those who found their ability to care for chil- 
dren on having ' raised a family.' " 

Mrs. Jones came in soon after, and, while she was 
in the kitchen, the widow arrived. I answered the 
bell, and ushered a large, muscular, stolid-faced 
woman into the bedroom. 



14 THE FIRST BATH. 



Depositing a forlorn-looking, enameled cloth bag 
upon the floor, she took off a musty-smelling shawl 
and bonnet, and, seating herself, asked for the baby, 
some water, a towel and a piece of soap. 1 handed 
her the baby, wrapped up in a shawl, as care- 
fully as I could, for handling a baby under such 
circumstances is, for a novice, a very delicate busi- 
ness. 

At this point I left the room for my breakfast, and 
Mrs. Jones appeared with the panada. She after- 
ward told me that she found that the widow had 
soaped the child and was then rubbing it briskly with 
a rather coarse towel. The little one was screaming 
and my wife complained of feeling so tired that Mrs. 
Jones merely suggested that if a little oil were rub- 
bed over the body and a softer towel used, the baby 
could be cleansed sufficiently for the first washing. 
Mrs. Flynn replied that " she ought to know — hadn't 
she had nine children of her own ; and where could 
any one point to finer children ? — and she would thank 
people to let her alone." Well, thought I, they are 



BABY ASSERTING ITSELF. I 5 

the sturdiest, dirtiest set of youngsters I have set 
my eyes on — and is mine to be like them? Heaven 
forbid ! As I entered our bedroom, the first dis- 
agreement that had entered into our home, was quite 
apparent. There sat the nurse, with the baby dressed 
lying on her capacious lap, and, with a teaspoon, she 
was endeavoring to feed it some thin arrowroot. 
She had already given the molasses and gin. Lena, 
weak as .she was, was protesting — urged the im- 
portance of doing as the doctor had said, and baby 
was seconding it all by screams, the like of which I 
had never heard before. Finally all was quiet. 

Urging upon my wife the necessity of attempting 
to nurse, with regularity if possible, every two or 
three hours, as the doctor had suggested, 1 left for 
a few hours' business, procured a servant and sent 
her to the house. Billings met me, and was sur- 
prised that I should have an addition u so early in 
married life. It was not considered exactly the 
thing." Jones, the man of large family, congratu- 
lated me warmly, but rather overdid it, I thought 



l6 COMPLIMENTS. 



when he wished me many happy returns of the day.'' 
But he was not to blame, for he was overworked, and 
did not always apply ideas correctly. 

At any rate, I started homeward quite proud — had 
sent telegrams to mother and mother-in-law ; but I 
found my poor wife in tears, because she did not 
seem to have anything, and she u did wish to nurse 
her baby, because it was right, and better for mother 
and child." In this dilemma, what could I do but 
send for the doctor? What he said and did we shall 
see. 



Chapter 1 1. 



THE DOCTOR. 



$)ID I say that I sent for the doctor? No; / went 
for him. The day that had begun so fairly as to 
weather, disappeared in gloom and sioppiness, and 
by the time I reached the office — though the doctor 
lived but a short distance off — my spirits lowered 
into S3^mpathy with the surrounding darkness. I was 
but little surprised to find that the doctor was not 
" at home," and so mechanically walked in, sat down, 
and waited quietly for ten minutes — very impatiently 
for the next fifteen. It occurred to me, then, that 
doctors ought to 6e ready when you wanted them. 

Here was a family at home — new member prob- 
ably screeching, wife crying, and the widow deter- 
mined to carry her point. The thought of such a 
scene, to a man accustomed hitherto to peace and 
quietness, irritated me, even though I then heard 



1 8 WAITING 



the doctor enter. Instead of coming- directly to me, 
as I expected he would, he really sat down and 
talked with a forlorn-looking woman, in a faded 
shawl, rusty dress, and a bonnet that could only 
have been new years before. The woman had a 
child in her arms — a sickly one, to be sure, and the 
woman was in the office when I came — but then, 
here was my family wanting the doctor. This must 
be a " charity" case, of course — while I was ready, 
just at that time at least, to pay almost any amount 
for advice ; but the woman got up to leave, and, as 
she thanked the physician, and the little one held out 
a puny hand and feebly said " Good-by," it did seem 
as if sometimes it might " be more blessed to give 
than to receive." 

For a moment I had almost forgotten my own 
anxiety in the little humane sympathy which will at 
times ruffle the surface in spite of one's determination 
not to be overcome. 

Having inquired as to my errand, and receiving 
the statement that affairs were decidedly squally at 



THEIR BABY. iy 



264 Tenth Street, Doctor Lyons and I started. It is 
all very well to say " Don't anticipate trouble ;" but 
a man who has left but a little while before his new 
baby trying to concentrate all its features into one 
unsightly bunch in the centre of the face, by pucker- 
ing lines, radiating in all directions from the common 
centre, and whose voice rang out with alarming clear- 
ness/ but with little variation in note — whose wife, 
before known to possess self-control, was now com- 
pletely unstrung — is not in a condition to be calm. 
Then there was that nurse standing guard. What if 
the baby shouldn't get natural food—how was it 
going to live, and what would my wife do ? Down 
at the office that day Salter had called, congratulated 
me of course, sat down, and, as if it might be useful 
for me to know, told of their first baby — how it didn't 
nurse, because it couldn't get anything, how they 
tried every food that was recommended by the 
neighbors and friends, and still it grew weaker and 
weaker, until, finally, a " kind Providence removed it 
from its sufferings by death." After thinking over 



20 ANOTHER MOTHER, 

all this, and of what Billings had said, it did seem 
rather tough to have one's family increased so soon, 
and then to run such a chance of losing the new comer 
as appeared to be opening up. 

Lost in reverie, I was aroused by the Doctor say- 
ing : 

" Did you notice that woman's face when she 
thanked me ?" 

I had seen that it was clearly cut, with none of 
those swollen or discolored rounded spots so indica- 
tive of intemperance in eating or drinking. It was 
pale, the cheeks were somewhat sunken, though on 
them appeared for a moment or two a faint flush, as 
she rose to leave. The eyes and eyelids did their 
share in thanking. All this I had noticed, but it left 
no lasting impression. 

" That woman," said the doctor, " was one of the 
brightest, prettiest woman, ten years ago, that you 
ever saw ; but, unfortunately, she had been brought 
up in luxury — had no settled purpose in life, except 
to get married. Her daily life consisted in dressing 



SPERMACETI BABY. 21 



and redressing, eating, receiving calls and going to 
parties and entertainments, she was naturally smart, 
and had her physical development been encouraged 
even a tenth part as much as her mind had been 
forced, she would have been in a different condition 
of life now. When she played croquet it was like an 
automaton. When she endeavored to skate she be-, 
came tired, and with a pain in her side sat down to 
rest. Horseback-riding was ' too severe ■ ; outdoor 
sports blistered her hands, tanned or freckled her 
face, and there wasn't anything pleasant in taking a 
a walk for health. Like a fragile plant deprived of 
sunshine and air, she had grown, but was pale, of lax 
fibre, and showed few signs of vital energy. To 
make a long story short, she married the same style 
of a man. The baby that was born to them was a 
pale, sickly-looking sort of a child, such as a friend of 
mine used to call a ' spermaceti baby.' Though the 
mother tried very hard to raise the child, yet it soon 
showed its poor heredity. Rickets developed, the 
bones were soft and bent, the ligaments at the joints 



22 WORKING. 



were feeble and relaxed, the ribs sinking in at the 
angles interfered with breathing, the appetite was 
poor. At the end of two years the child died of in- 
flammation of the lungs. When the second one was 
born, two years afterward, the parents were poor. 
Soon the father died, and here is this woman battling 
against poverty and hereditary defects, in the hope 
that she may be able to keep this child alive. Poverty 
has helped her more than she imagines, however, for 
if she had been able to give the delicacies that once 
she could command, this child would have followed 
the other. By being able to control the food of 
mother and child, through our diet dispensary, and 
by having the mother come frequently for advice, I 
believe that the boy will pull through. Certainly the 
mother is stronger than she once was. It is supris- 
ing to see how much there is to the worker even in 
the midst of poverty, when there is something and 
somebody to work for." 

By this time we had reached my door. Though it 
was dark, still, and the sidewalk was dotted with 



SYMPATHY. 23 



puddles of water, and the walking was disagreeable 
— yet, in spite of the general discomfort surrounding 
me, my heart was light with sympathy for the poor 
woman who was battling against such odds. This 
feeling developed into the belief that I must help 
her. 

It was extremely pleasant, therefore, to me, in this 
state of mind, to find the baby asleep, though I saw 
that the doctor had perceived the odor of the nurse's 
gin when we entered the room. 

Mrs. Flynn had been aroused with difficulty by 
repeated ringings at the door-bell, and she showed 
unmistakable evidences of having taken some of the 
medicine which she had recommended for the " poor 
baby's little stomach." As she sat herself down it 
did seem as if her natural vigor of purpose was 
fortified for aggressive work. 

Leaving her there, the doctor passed to the bed- 
side and assured my wife that there was nothing to 
dread at present — that it might be five days before 
she could nurse the child properly; but probably 



24 DISTURBING THE WIDOW. 

only two or three. A few words of encouragement, 
given in his quiet way, served to calm Mrs. Mat- 
thews, and in a little while she was fast asleep. 

" As there are no more calls on my list, and it is 
so disagreeable out of doors, let us go into another 
room, after I have turned down the light somewhat," 
said the physician, " and we can then talk over this 
whole matter without disturbing the little one or its 
mother. Do you know, Mr. Matthews, that you will 
have to disturb that widow? Discharge her to- 
morrow. A woman who can't keep awake, who car- 
ries bottles in her handbag, who takes gin as a bever- 
age — isn't just the person to leave in charge of your 
wife and baby. I know you did the best you could 
under the circumstances, but, now that we know the 
woman, the sooner she is disposed of the better. 

" Nothing like promptness here. I have seen so 
many accidents happen to other men's wives from 
ignorant nurses, that I don't care to risk your wife 
with this one. Educate women for nurses, pay them 
living wages, and hold them responsible — that's my 



THE NEIGHBOR S BABIES. 25 

belief. If you don't feel like sending- her off, I will 
do it in the morning" when I call, and will see to it, 
also, that you have a reliable woman very soon 
afterward. These women who have raised so many 
children, and who are fond of describing the method, 
are too dogmatic to suit me. They imagine that all 
children are, or ought to be, constructed alike. 

" Why, there was that kind neighbor of Mrs. 
Bond's, on the next block to you, who insisted upon 
giving Mrs. Bond's little one some patent food, be- 
cause her children had been raised on it. The baby 
couldn't take it, didn't want it ; threw it up, made 
all sorts of faces, and after all I found that the neigh- 
bor's babies hadn't been raised very far, for most of 
them died early. You must look into these matters 
at the outset. Friends and neighbors will crowd in 
upon you before long, and it requires a level head 
to know how to manage. Find out that a baby 
isn't a mere machine ; get all the solid information 
you can from reliable sources, and then go ahead. 
In a day or two I will loan you some first-rate 



26 MRS. FliYNN SNORES. 

books, and command me whenever you wish advice. 
A word more before I go. This wife of yours is not 
strong, but she is sensible and willing to do all 
she can, and will work beyond her strength. Now 
help her. You will say that you didn't suppose the 
father will have much to do in raising a baby. Yes, 
I know that idea is very often practically carried 
out, but it isn't right. There are many ways in 
which you can help her to raise the child, without 
having to tend the baby yourself, and there is no rea- 
son why the woman should do everything. It is 
well enough to have your wife's mother come here, 
and you must have a good nurse for two or three 
weeks, but don't rely entirely on either. So good- 
evening." 

The night was passed in comparative quiet. Baby 
and wife slept, so did Mrs. Flynn, but not quietly — 
for ever and anon I was aroused from my slumber 
by a series of short grunting sounds which always 
ended in what I felt sure was an unusually vigorous 
snore. 



A LITTLE GIN. 27 



It was with pleasure, therefore, that I was aroused 
from this restless, uneasy sleep, by the approach of 
daylight. Very soon after breakfast, which I at- 
tempted to prepare, the doctor came. 

For ten minutes there was some loud talking in the 
sitting-room, and when the widow came out it was 
evident that her self-conceit had been wounded. I 
paid her, and as she tied on her bonnet and pinned 
her shawl, her fingers seemed to grasp these ob- 
jects a little more tightly than there was necessity 
for. 

" It's very strange, seems to me, that you can't 
know when you are well off. A woman who has 
raised a family like my own to be turned off at a 
moment's notice ! A little gin ain't so bad as you all 
mal<3 out. You will see the time when you will be 
glad to stop his stomach-ache with it. Well, no mat- 
ter. Doctor Lyons will be sorry for all this !■■' 

And so she went out, and, as she did so, the doctor 
ushered in Mrs. Lawrence. She was a little body, 
but, when she had spoken kindly to my wife, kissed 



28 MY MOTHER-IN-LAW. 



the baby, smoothed the pillows, cleaned and aired 
the room, I was confident that all was going smooth- 
ly ; so I sent for my mother-in-law. 



Chapter III 



THE MOTHERS-IN-LAW. 



■y^TITH our new nurse and new servant, home pros- 
pects seemed to brighten. To be sure, Katie some- 
how or other couldn't brown the biscuits just right, 
and the coffee failed at times to emit any aroma, or 
on other occasions it was undoubtedly burnt, but 
the blame was laid upon the " new-notioned French 
coffee-pot," and so satisfied was our domestic with the 
good things she did accomplish, that she was very 
cheery. In fact, she was a typical specimen of a 
healthy, robust Irish girl, willing to work, and not at 
all afraid of it. 

I felt sure that I did not over-estimate my wife's 
ability to manage household matters when she would 
be well, and it did not seem as if there could be any 
clashing. The nurse did so nicely, too. Her meth- 
ods were so simple, and yet effective. Mrs. M 



30 CAUSE AND EFFECT. 



and the baby thrived — the one on good, solid, sub- 
stantial food, which she was able to take by the third 
day, and the other on the results, milk. The little 
one did not need much food apparently, for it slept 
most of the time, but made good use of what it did 
take. At the end of a week, thanks to the good care 
and food, Lena felt very much like " being at work." 
What a strange procedure it was, not many years 
ago even, to feed a woman on slops simply because 
a baby had been born. Our little family seemed to 
appreciate the present age, and so comparative com- 
fort was restored. It could be only comparative, for 
baby had a way of rousing us at night, demanding 
attention just as the evening paper was to be 
read, or of tuning up in the midst of a conversation. 
It was certainly a new experience. The neighbors 
began to pour in upon us, too, especially the female 
element, in a way unheard of before, in our quiet 
quarters. Mrs. Billings showered congratulations 
upon my wife in one moment, while in the next she 
" hoped that baby wasn't going to tie her down, for 



OUR NEIGHBORS. 31 



there was so much going on — the fair and raffle at 
Rev. Mr. Barnaby's church, the opening of a new 
and immense variety store — and then a new nursery 
was to be founded, for the care of dear little children. 
And," said the energetic, inconsistent lady, "Mrs. 
Matthews, we expect you to be one of our managers. 
It will be such a pleasure for you to care for the 
little ones, now that you have one of your own." 

Our next-door neighbor Mrs. Percy, was gruff in 
exterior, but with a kindly heart. Her offers of 
assistance seemed to us at first not to be reliable, 
but as we knew more of our friend, as she came to 
be, her goodness revealed itself in motherly care and 
solicitude. She was the only woman of our acquaint- 
ance, by-the-way, who did not believe or state that 
the dear baby was " just like its father or mother," as 
the case might be. " Little difference does it make, 
Mrs. Matthews,'' she would say, " what your baby 
looks like : handsome is that handsome does ; or, as 
my old father used to say (and lie was somewhat of 
a natural-born doctor), give your youngsters good 



32 THE FINICKY MRS. LAZELLE. 

sound underpinnings, and then Avhat goes on atop of 
them will stand and look well enough.' 5 Then there 
was the finicky Mrs. Lazelle, who lived four doors 
down, good by nature, willing to help, but she was 
not a favorite with any one, so far as I could see. 
Her trials, according to her own statement, were 
more severe than those of other people. Her husband, 
kind as any man could be, when they were married, 
now that four children had come, neglected her, was 
absorbed in his business, and then he didn't attempt 
to control the children an}^ more, etc., etc." You 
have all heard the same story repeated again and 
again, and so did we; but then added to ours were 
little bits of gossip, and any number of querulous 

complaints. Whether Mr. L was such a man as 

his wife portrayed, and she such a faithful and pains- 
taking wife, as her story revealed, I did not know at 
the time, though I have had occasion since to become 
intimately acquainted with both of them. 

Among the young unmarried ladies who were we'. 
come was a Miss Oley, given to good works. Al- 



THE UBIQUITOUS MISS OLEY. 33 

ready had her name been " handed in '' as a " mana- 
ger " in the newly proposed institution for the young, 
though she was at the time a faithful worker in the 
Diet Dispensary cause, a leading member of her 
Church, corresponding secretary for the Mission 
Society, teacher of an evening "ragged school,' ' 
founder of an afternoon sewing school, originator ot 
fetes, festivals and entertainments, and a friend of the 
poor and unfortunate. Her enthusiasm was contagi- 
ous, and already my wife was, unawares, laying plans 
for future usefulness. It was a study to watch Miss 
Oley's eyes fairly sparkle as she enumerated the ad- 
vantages to be obtained by this new nursery. They 
already seemed real, so vividly were they outlined. 

On the tenth day after the baby was born, my 
mother-in-law, Mrs. Vincent, arrived by the eight 
o'clock morning express train, and in a short time 
after trunk, bundles, and parcels were stowed away 
in the " spare room," and a breakfast had been eaten, 
she was thoroughly at home. Her coming seemed 
to straighten out the little inequalities apparent in a 



34 MY MOTHER-IN-LAW. 

house which had been without a housekeeper's care 
for nearly two weeks. 

The nurse, faithful as she was, could not look into 
the details of house management, and neither did 
Katie desire her to, for she had confidence in herself; 
and then it was extremely inconvenient to be inter- 
rupted in the midst of a conversation with Joe, the 
butcher's boy, or to be asked to do this or that just 
as her cousin (?) Tom Mullins had called to spend 
the evening. 

As Mrs. Vincent assumed charge, the machinery 
began to move. Joe loitered less at the basement- 
door, and remembered that he was needed at the 
shop ; Tom failed to call as often as before, and took 
good care to leave at ten P. M. sharp, the time Mrs. 
V. closed the house for the night ; meals were 
promptly served, and the iood was well selected 
and well cooked ; the cleanliness about the house 
was as of old, and I could see in everything that was 
done ways that reminded me of Lena, yet it was not 
Lena who sat opposite me at the dining-table, but a 



GO BUY A COW.' 



35 



tall woman, with features sharpened and pinched by 
age, with hair just turning to gray, whose eyes, 
though dimmed, yet were capable of glistening with 
animation, and bespoke a latent power in the owner. 
Her manner was dignified and precise, and were it 
not for the fact (known to myself) that she had al- 
lowed Lena to have her own way, over and over 
again, I should have supposed that she was always 
severe. I knew that she was determined at times, 
though I had never witnessed any exhibition of will 
— but that was to come. 

" Robert," she said, on the morning of the seven 
teenth day, after breakfast, "I do not believe that 
Lena will be able to nurse her child. The poor little 
thing needs more now than it did, and Lena never 
was very strong, and now that she has begun to walk 
around, there seems less nourishment than ever, but 
we will see what can be done. I think that the poor 
girl ought to have a wet-nurse, or you must buy 
a cow or a goat ; for they do say that in New York 
water is put into all the milk you get, and I guess a 
good many other things, too, go in.'' 



36 grandma's indulgence. 

I knew very well, from what my wife had said 
from time to time, that baby was more restless, and 
was much harder to take care of than before. I also 
knew that somebody was walking up and down the 
floor at night with it, and it seemed strange that all 
this should have occurred within a week. 

Baby didn't sleep in its crib any longer at night, 
but a grandma '' took care of it, so 1 learned. Hav- 
ing read some time before a book on " The danger 
to the young of sleeping with the old," the whole 
subject was so fresh in my mind, that I felt rather 
alarmed, but I did not care to say anything. It was 
an item, too, not to have the crib used, which I had 
spent so much money for. 

To be sure, I saw but little of all this, as I was 
banished to a room by myself. From what I did 
know, however, it wasn't conducive to preservation 
of one's temper to be told that perhaps he might 
have to buy a cow. Already the baby had cost 
considerable taking the doctor, two nurses, crib, 
outfit and extra diet. It was now suggested that 



A CHRISTENING SUPPER. 37 

it might be well to have a " christening- supper ' ? on 
the day of the baby's baptism. Little as Mrs. Bill- 
ings believed in babies, she did believe in suppers 
and social gatherings, and, as it " was just the thing 
nowadays," it became a question whether or no we 
ought not to observe the prevailing custom. To be 
sure, it would cost something, if we did as we ought 
to; but, then, it was for the baby, and the occasion 
and expense would occur only once, so they said. 
It was decided, therefore, that the supper should 
take place, and those friends were to be invited who 
were interested in children, or who had children of 
their own. 

As the baby did not seem to thrive, I walked over 
to the doctor's that evening to consult with him, and 
found him at home. He could not see why we were 
having trouble, and believed that Mrs. Matthews 
was not living as she ought to, for you see, said he, 
" although your wife is not very strong, yet a proper 
kind and sufficiency of (ood — exercise in the open air 
every day — entire ireedom from worry, — pleasant 



38 SMALL MOTHERS. 



surroundings, with occasionally the careful use of 
certain medicines, will improve her health, and does 
in the majority of cases place the woman in a posi- 
tion to be able to nourish her child. There are ner- 
vous, excitable women, who never can nurse, and 
also a certain proportion who, by a hothouse propa- 
gation, and a fashionable observance of dress, haven't 
the necessary strength and formation of body The 
third class comprises the lazy people, who find it too 
much trouble. Now, your wife, Matthews, dosen't 
belong to any one of these classes. Sne is not lazy, 
she has nervous and physical strength, and then to 
direct ail, there is that rare possession ' common 
sense.' To be sure, she has not Mrs. Percys strength, 
for she has not the same muscle, but she is small, en- 
ergetic and wiry. These smaii people accomplish 
very much, and overcome obstacles that more muscu- 
lar people would not attempt. I will run over in 
the morning. By-the-way, I understand your mother 
will be there then, I am glad of it. We can talk this 
whole matter over between us, and with two such 



MY MOTHER. 39 



faithful guaroians as mother and mother-in-law, 
your vviie and baby ought tc thrive. Good-evening." 

As 1 started for home I hoped that all would go 
well — but I was doubtful, for my mother had decided 
views, too, and it was a question whether these might 
net clash with those of some one else. 

My mother came in due time. Let me describe 
her appearance and ideas before we proceed further 
Brought up in comfortable circumstances, she had 
always had plenty to eat, wear and spare. Living 
in the country among the hills, where the purest 
water was to be found and milk was abundant, where 
there were but few, if any, artificial wants, (such as 
we ail deem necessary in the cities), and yet an 
abundance of the real necessities of life, she grew to 
womanhood. 

Her married life was a pleasant, congenial one. 
The natural cheerful disposition of her younger days 
deepened and widened into a golden, ripe old age, 
full of life and happiness. There seemed to be 
but one cloud of sadness which would, at times, fall 



40 THE FIRST GRANDCHILD. 



upon her, as it had quite often come across her path- 
way in the first twenty years of her married life. It 
had its origin in the fact that " none of her boys were 
girls !'' Five boys, and not one daughter. And so it 
happened that she grieved at times. Brought up 
among a healthy country people, where not to nurse 
children was such an exception that the mother doing 
this was almost a curiosity, it was quite natural that 
she should believe that women ought always to nurse 
their children. 

Our baby was her first grandchild, and so, hearing 
of our roughened path toward a dietary, she hastened 
to us, fully convinced that Lena was no exception to 
the rule, which, by this time in her life, had become 
firmly fastened as a part of her being. 

It was of little avail to argue with my dear mother 
upon the subject. The fact that she had, after all, 
during a long life, seen but very little of the difficul- 
ties in the way of raising children, such as are found 
among dense populations, was of no moment with 
her. Her faith was unshaken in natural feeding, and 
her whole soul was enlisted in the baby's cause. 



Chapter IV. 

* A MULTITUDE OF COUNSELORS." 

*yy HEN Doctor Lyons called, a curious council was 
convened in behalf of our boy. Mrs. Vincent, 
strong in her determination to make use of her ex- 
perience for my wife, sat calm but very dignified. 
Mother, not doubting for one moment that her logic 
of " duty " would be triumphant, was unusually 
cheerful. There sat my wife (still not strong), the 
doctor and myself. 

Mrs. Vincent argued that Lena had never been 
very strong ; that although it might be right to 
nurse if one could, if they couldn't, they couldn't ; 
and then she had known of women dying of con- 
sumption who would nurse their children till they 
had almost to be taken away from them by force. 
For her part, if either was to die, she would rather 
have the baby go. 



42 LENA'S EXPERIENCE, 

Mother couldn't see any reason why Lena should 
not nurse. All women ought to. Where she had 
been brought up, mothers did not believe in feeding", 
though they had the best of cows to get milk from. 
Consumption didn't come in her country by nursing, 
but only when people were careless. 

Lena gave her experience, how she cried for the 
first few days so very often, during Mrs. Flynn's 
stay, and how the baby cried. Then Mrs. Lawrence 
came, and with her, hope for the future. She thought 
that the food she had had helped her very much, 
" and she knew the baby wasn't so troublesome, then, 
as he had been lately, when she had taken less exer- 
cise and had less food. Mother thinks so much food 
makes me bilious, and it is bad for baby. Mrs Bill- 
ings was in to-day and insists upon it that I ought 
not to be bound down, just as everything is going 
on. I don't know what to do about it. Whatever 
is going to be right for the baby I want to do, but I 
can't stand it this way. He frets, won't take a long 
sleep, cries all night, and is so worrysome. Doctor, 



WIFE VERSUS mother.' 43 

what am I to do? Mrs. Matthews thinks I am fool- 
ish to give way, and mother thinks I am if I don't. 
I never thought babies were so hard to take care of. 
How in the world has Mrs. Jones ever raised so 
many children as she has, and not gone crazy?'' 

"This subject of the feeding of children," said the 
doctor, " is a vast one, and I should not have time to 
go over it all now. If you have time, look over 
this, "Coombe on the Management of Infancy," and 
this book, u Advice to Mothers, by Chavase. They 
are both reliable, and though they do not read like 
novels, yet there is much sound sense in them. J 
took the liberty, Mrs. Matthews, of telling your hu$ 
band that you had common sense, and I believe y >t2 
have, and I also believe that we may succeed in get 
ting things to rights with you and the baby. Try 
to get out every day in the fresh air, and, by-the- 
way, don't shut your windows tight at night. Thf 
outside air is more often purer than that found in 
doors, coming up to bedrooms from kitchens, hall? 
and the cellar. It is a curious sort of $n idea people 



44 BABY HABITS. 



have that they should not breathe night air. What 
other air can they breathe at night ? Some of the 
baby's restlessness may be due to your close room. 
Your stove makes the air impure ; every gas jet 
poisons as much air as four persons. Little babies 
need a good deal of air, but not too cold, or in strong 
draughts. I understand that yours won't sleep in 
the crib any more. Babies acquire habits very 
early. Take up a child because it frets or is restless, 
or rouse one from a sleep (as is so often done merely 
to gratify the curiosity of friends), and it soon learns 
to expect to be held. Feed a baby irregularly and it 
soon demands irregular feeding. Dose with sooth- 
ing syrups and soon the dose has to be increased. 
Of course none of these things have happened with 
you, and I can hardly account for this change. Ex- 
cuse me, Mrs. Matthews, but while I am talking, let 
me suggest that perhaps you have too much com- 
pany. I can easily see why Mrs. Billings and Miss 
Oley should want to get you interested in the new 
nursery, but just now, don't think too much about it. 



AIR AND EXERCISE. 45 

Let us get through with our private nursery first. 
Be cheerful, live well, take daily exercise, and follow 
out these written directions as to medicine, and then 
you will be better, I hope. Now for the baby. He 
is now old enough to go out every day if it is not 
windy or rainy. Mere dampness under foot need 
not keep him in, seeing that there is a baby car- 
riage. Dress him warmly in light, fleecy garments, 
but don't put on so much clothing as to induce pers- 
piration. I never could see why babies' faces should 
be covered with vails, especially on pleasant days. 
You may not be able to go out, or send him out ; 
then open the window, put on your out-door wrap- 
pings and walk about the rooms. 

" When night comes, and the baby is restless, and 
seems to cry with pain, warm the feet by the fire or 
rub them well with the hands. This rubbing is often 
very soothing. A heated flannel applied over the 
stomach is ol service. Do not be led, I pray you, 
into giving sleep-drops. You say " they are said to 
be harmless.' I would reply that those said to con- 



46 SOOTHING SYRUP. 

tain no opium, are likely to have morphine instead, 
that I have seen several cases of poisoning from their 
use ; that syrups, as they are, they are liable to in- 
terfere with digestion. Plain aniseed, catnip, pep- 
permint, cinnamon or fennel tea are much safer. 

" I am very sorry that I cannot agree entirely 
with either your mother or mother-in-law. While 
I have known consumption to ensue in the course of 
natural feeding or nursing, yet it was due to prolong- 
ed or improper nursing, or occurred in a woman with 
a hereditary tendency to disease of the lungs. I aiso 
cannot believe that because a woman is not as strong 
as Mrs. Percy, for instance, she should not nurse. 
Again, physicians know that in the country feeding 
is comparatively rare with infants ; but when we 
look at our cities, pass through our tenement-houses, 
our institutions for the young, and find ourselves in 
the houses of the rich or well-to-do — the question as 
to natural or artificial feeding becomes a difficult one 
to decide at times. Each child and its mother is a 
study by themselves, and the one who can best an- 



CHRISTENING PERILS. 47 

alyze and arrive at conclusions, will succeed most 
often in raising- children. To make this whole matter 
plain, when you have time, I should be happy to act 
as escort for a trip to some of the institutions. We 
may be able to unravel histories and obtain informa- 
tion, Mr. Matthews tells me the baby is to be christ- 
ened on Sunday. I hope all will be well, yet care is 
necessary in taking- babies to and from church. If 
the day is very unpleasant, would it not be well 
to postpone the baptism ? Our churches are gener- 
ally heated too much or too little, and babies are 
tender little plants. Physicians find much to do 
among the babies of the Irish, especially, who are 
carried to church, to * the christening,' the Sunday 
after they are born or the Sunday following,, Sta- 
tistics upon mortality in France show that a large 
proportion of deaths among infants there is due to 
this early exposure. 

" One other point, before I leave,'' said the doctor. 
" Some of your kind neighbors will undoubtedly tell 
you, if they have not already, that your baby will 



THE DIFFERENCE IN BABIES. 



suffer from colic and dyspepsia, and be troublesome 
till he is three months old. Just at the turn into the 
fourth month he will be expected to do wonders. 
Now, my experience is, that it will be two, three, 
four, or even seven months before a change occurs, 
all depending- upon the condition of the child, and 
the ability of parents and doctor to be rightful inter- 
preters of signs and symptoms. 

" Some babies are born very feeble, and have but 
a poor chance of living under the best care. Some, 
like yours, are born strong and fail afterward. Like 
all the popular beliefs which have gained ground, 
and still hold it, this one, as to a definite time for 
the recovery of an afflicted baby, has an element of 
truth in it. At about three months, saliva and the 
digestive juices are secreted in quite an appreciable 
amount, and babies have developed to such a de- 
gree that the digestive organs are able to accomplish 
more and better work. Now, if there has been 
simply a want of digestive power in the baby here- 
tofore, at three months this will be largely remedied, 



THE "DOCTOR'S HOBBY. 49 

but you can easily think (without medical knowl- 
edge) of causes which might stand in the way of this 
natural remedy. 

" A baby may have inherited digestive difficulties. 
It may not be able to nurse from some deformity of 
the mouth, lips, or throat. It may not digest the 
milk from mother or nurse, and feeding has to be 
resorted to. The right kind of food may agree, 
but unfortunately there is no one kind that will an- 
swer for all babies. Hence, if the baby can digest, 
and the food given is digestible and just the thing to 
sustain life, then all will go on well. Suppose that 
these combinations are not present, of what use is 
the three months' rule ?" 

Dr. Lyons withdrew, and our little family re- 
mained as before, except that Mrs. Vincent was 
more decided than ever in her expressions of dig- 
nified contempt for what she was pleased to call 
a a hobby '' of the doctor's. " All doctors have their 
hobbies to ride. Why, there was a man out West, 
who called himself doctor, who was to cure every- 



50 LENA S TACT. 



thing by rubbing. Then another one told everybody 
that electricity was just the thing. Another one gave 
no medicine at all ; one used medicine for everything. 
I tell you this feeding business is a hobby with your 
doctor, and he wants everybody to nurse." 

Mother could not keep from rubbing her hands 
with joy in the belief that her ideas had proved to 
be well founded, and though she evidently tried hard 
to restrain her tongue, it did say : 

" Mrs. Vincent, Doctor Lyons seems to me to be a 
very sensible man, and I must say his ideas about 
what he calls ' natural feeding : meet my approval." 

This u must say " was just sufficient to awake 
some of the smouldering fire in Mrs. V., now only 
shown in her eyes, but which in her younger days 
would have been more manifest. I then tried my 
hand in smoothing the troubled condition of things, 
but I only made matters worse, as men generally do. 
Lena perceived the situation of affairs, and sug 
gested that we should go to dinner, which was 
ready. A good dinner helps wonderfully to smooth 



SALTER S GOATS. 5 I 



ruffled feelings, and so did ours that day. The care 
of the baby, by apparent consent of all parties, was 
not to be referred to for a time, and it was not ; but 
the remembrance of the misunderstanding created 
was not pleasant. 

Going to the office after dinner, I told Salter, who 
after all was a good fellow and friend, of our late 
council of advice. "Well," said he, " it must have 
been rich. Why didn't you invite me. I had a 
hobby that I learned from my mother-in-law, that is, 
that feeding with goat's milk is the thing. Why, 
Matthews, I scoured the city for a goat, bought one, 
tied her in the back yard. Well, she bleated all 
night, and none of us could sleep ; then she did not 
give all the milk she was warranted to give. Some- 
body said, ' feed her more,' and I did, and one night 
she got into the feed-box I had for her, and the re- 
sult was, she died. I buried her under the grape- 
vine, where she will do some good, and bought 
another. This one I did not tie, and in about twenty- 
four hours every green thing in the yard was eaten 



52 FRESH AIR AND BLUE GLASS. 

up, the grape-vine was barked, and I sold the beast. 
Now, other people may do better with goats than I 
did, so don't you feel downhearted, My other hobby 
comes from our doctor, Doctor Pearsall ; and this 
one is, that after all, grandmothers and the old peo- 
ple are the ones to tend to the ' little matters ' about 
feeding and clothing of babies, and all the other lit- 
tle things that you know something about now, Bob, 
I believe. But, now that I think of it, you remem- 
ber young Jenkins, who used to be here. Well, his 
mother had a hobby, which I believe did kill one ot 
his youngsters. She believed in ' fresh air/ and fresh 
air it was. To get the full advantage of it, his baby 
was exposed to it at all times nearly, so as to harden 
its skin. ' People would smother their children,' she 
said, 'with clothes,' and so she put on very few ol 
them. The baby died of what the servant said the 
doctor called the ' brown creeturs.' There is Per- 
kins' mother, who has a new hobby every week. 
Just now, everything to flourish must go under 
1 blue glass.' Perkins never could have his children 



MY DREAM. 53 



out in the sun before, for fear that they might freckle. 
His mother has charge of the children now that his 
wife is dead. Well, they take a run, aud come in 
the house and sit behind the blue glass for a while. 
I believe they look better than they did, owing to 
the sun and romping in the open air, but the old 
lady sticks to it, it is all owing to the blue glass. 

5' It strikes me, Bob, that that doctor of yours is 
a kind of an old woman. I understand that there is 
some talk of putting him in charge of the nursery, 
when it is started ; but he will never do for that 
place. What is needed there is a man who will let 
the ladies do as they like, and not interfere with 
them." 

My dreams that night were about mothers, mo- 
thers-in-law and grandmothers generally. It seemed 
to me that there were about twenty of them, all pull- 
ing at one little baby, and each in a different direc- 
tion. Then there were six doctors, each giving dif- 
ferent advice. All were talking at the same time, till 
the jargon grew so loud that it awoke me. 



54 FOREBODINGS. 



It had not occurred to me in the midst of the din 
that if a little common sense had bsen used some 
decision would have been arrived at ; but I made up 
my mind now not to have any hobbies, to learn what 
I could about babies, and not to let any one but Lena 
have the entire charge of our infant in the future. 
I had begun to dread controversies, and I was rather 
gloomy over the prospects of the coming christening- 
supper. 



Chapter V. 



THE CHRISTENING. 



f) ABY was just six weeks old when he was christ- 
ened. What his name should be had been talked 
of ever since his birth, and finally a decision had 
been arrived at that he should be called John. 

" I don't like nicknames," said Mrs. Vincent, " and 
we must give him a name that the boys won't twist 
about, and so short that they won't want to make it 
any shorter. 

This settled the matter, and it was well that we 
came to some conclusion, for neighbors and friends 
Were overwhelming us with advice. One thought 
" that being the first child, he should certainly be 
named after his father." Another suggested a u ro- 
mantic name." A third a " Scriptural one." Es- 
pecially did our old friend Mrs. Carey urge a name 
from Scripture. Her boys, Timothy, Joshua and 



56 " what's in a name ?" 

Paul, were much dearer to her than they would have 
been had she named them Charles, Adolphus and 
Henry. So she thoroughly believed ; but those of 
us who knew the old lady well, recognized the fact 
that her whole life had been devoted to doing good 
— that it seemed impossible for her to refuse to do 
anything in her power for anybody, whatever the 
name, station or condition might be. 

Miss Denny, a maiden lady, in charge of a little 
thread and needle store (where my wife had bought 
from time to time sundry little articles), had sent in 
the early days of the baby's life a large pincushion 
with the words " Welcome, Little Stranger," ingeni- 
ously worked upon it with pins. Now she was in a 
flutter at the idea of the baby's baptism, and it 
grieved her to think that she could not give a 
christening present. Her good wishes for the in- 
fant's welfare in the future were equal in value, so 
thought my wife and I, to many of the presents 
which began to shower upon our heir. 

March 25th being a service-day, had been singled 



INVITATIONS. 57 



out for the christening. Invitations to the supper 
had been sent to Mr. and Mrs. Billings, Lazelle, Percy, 
Jones, Bond and Salter ; Miss Oley, Mrs. Carey and 
Miss Denny — with all of whom you are already ac- 
quainted. 

At first it was thought that Doctor Lyons might 
be invited ; but on second consideration, founded on 
a decided opinion expressed by Mrs. Vincent " that 
he might ventilate too strongly some of his hobbies/' 
his name was omitted from the list. 

The Reverend Mr. Barnaby and wife of course 
were invited. Though they never had had children 
of their own, and could not adopt any on account of 
the impaired health of the lady, yet their views as to 
the methods of rearing children were, in their minds, 
at least, the proper ones. Eloquently had the Rev- 
erend gentleman discoursed on the duties of parents 
to children and of children to parents — before the 
arrival of our baby — with but little impression upon 
me. 

After my first ten days' experience with our little 



58 MR. BARNABY S SENTIMENTS. 

fellow, I began to question in my mind the ability of 
any one to teach who had never been taught, by the 
need of sleep, worriment of mind, and increase in cur- 
rent expenses, which our baby had brought with him. 
Yet, I must confess that I felt at times that perhaps 
our minister's ideas of total depravity (which, by-the- 
way, he did not speak of from the pulpit) had some 
truth in them. 

On the arrival of mother and mother-in-law, there 
did not seem to be so much depravity. Perhaps it 
was because I had less to do with the baby then than 
before their coming. 

Mrs. Barnaby who echoed the sentiments and 
opinions expressed by her husband, as to the proper 
method of raising children, claimed, in addition, that 
she was fond of them. While Mr. B., though he had 
been known to pat at times various little urchins up- 
on the head, and had been seen to kiss some of the lit- 
tle girls, yet he did not really love them. At least so 
Miss Denny believed, and no one knew more of what 
was going on in the parish than this same Miss Denny. 



AN AUSPICIOUS DAY. 59 



Her little shop, reminded one of the country post- 
offices where the old and young of the village meet 
to talk over crops, or the latest news, or to indulge 
in banterings or flirtations. 

Arrangements had been made for the supper, and 
the ladies had puzzled themselves over the style of 
dress baby should wear to church, when March 25th 
was ushered in, with as bright a prospect for a 
pleasant day as one could desire. The sun came 
out in his glory, and the clothing worn by all of us, 
during many chilly days preceding, was now really 
uncomfortable. It became a question immediately, 
which created a diversion of opinion, whether baby 
should wear its new thick cloak. After a prolonged 
discussion the question was decided in the affirma- 
tive, on the ground that the baby might take cold if 
the cloak was not worn. After some delay we 
started. On the way, some one remembered that a 
shawl which had been laid out for Lena's use had 
not been brought along, but as my wife thought she 
was dressed warmly enough, it was not sent for. 



60 AT THE CHURCH. 

Entering the church we found the air cooler than the 
outside air had been. We learned afterward that 
the sexton had let the fires go out a few days before. 
Although we felt rather chilly, yet it could not be 
helped now. Lena had hoped that Mr. Barnaby 
would not (i drench " the baby with water as she 
had seen him do at other baptisms — but he did. 
Evidently he believed in the emcacy of quantity, 
but it was destructive to the child's piece of mind, 
and he gave vent to his feelings in a series of loud, 
ringing cries. Mrs. Jones told Lena, after the bap- 
tism was over, and as we hastened toward home, 
that having had the same experience with her first 
child, she was determined, when the second child was 
born, not to have it over again, so she be^an very 
early to get the child used to plenty of water, when 
it took its bath, by filling a large sponge full, and 
squeezing it out over the baby. The same plan she 
had tried with her whole seven children, and with 
the best results. Not only were they not afraid of 
being baptized, but they were not afraid to take 



WEATHER PROPHETS. 



baths as they grew older. This item I put down in 
my note-book, which I had lately procured for the 
registry of facts such as this. We had reason to hast- 
en, for the sky was overcast. No longer did the 
sun shine, for his place was taken by the cold-look- 
ing gray clouds, which gather so suddenly in the 
early days of Spring. The wind had aroused from its 
apparent slumber of a few hours before, and now re- 
minded us of the fact that he was a disagreeable com- 
panion. Several members of the party suggested 
that they had known the weather was going to be 
unpleasant, but never a word upon the subject had 
been said until we complained of chilliness. 

When we reached home, Lena was quite exhausted, 
and complained of a severe pain in her side ; but by 
force of will she went about through the house, as 
was necessary, but found herself unable to preside at 
the supper in the evening. Baby seemed to know 
that his mother was ill, and, whether he had pain or 
suffered from lack of nourishment, became peevish. 

Mrs. Lawrence was to take charge of mother and 



62 CATCHING COLD. 



bab} 7 , while Mrs. Vincent sat in Lena's place at the 
table. Twenty persons took their places at the 
supper-table, prepared in honor of our boy, and 
to remind the parents that they had assumed a re- 
sponsibility. It was understood between Mrs. Vin- 
cent and myself that the questions as to the care and 
training of children, which had already proved to be 
" bones of contention," should not be brought up if 
possible. 

Care had been taken not to inform the guests as to 
Lena's condition, which naturally alarmed me, but 
which did not disturb apparently, to any great de- 
gree, our mothers ; but when it was seen that she did 
not make her appearance in the dining-room, then all 
sorts of inquiries were made, and various opinions 
were broached. 

" I was afraid,'' remarked Miss Denny, " when I 
saw Mrs. Matthews go without that shawl that she 
would catch a cold. There's no dependence to be 
placed on our weather here. Five years ago I had 
the yellow jaundice, when 1 went out in the same 
way, and so I know how bad it is." 



POOR ECONOMY. ' 63 



" But, Miss Denny," said Mrs. Carey, " why didn't 
you tell Mrs. Matthews about this before she left the 
house ?" 

" I didn't like to interfere, Mrs. Carey. People 
don't always like to have other people tell them 
things." 

" Yes, I know, my dear woman ; but there is a way 
in which we can speak of subjects to others without 
giving offense. The dear little baby seems to be 
well. Somebody thought of a good warm cloak for 
him. I am sure, Mr. Barnaby, that our sexton was 
a little forgetful to-day in his arrangements, was he 
not ?" 

" Well, the fact is, Mrs. Carey, that it was decided 
last week not to keep the fires up any longer. Our 
expenses are heavy, and we dispense with the fires 
generally as soon as Spring sets in. If it had occurred 
to me that it might be too cold to-day, there would 
have been some fire." 

Salter, who somehow or other was posted upon 
many things which had occurred in our neighbor- 



64 DJCTORS DISAGREE. 

hood, told me afterward that this wasn't the first 
time the church had been cold during the like cere^ 
mony. He was rather inclined to lay the blame 
upon Dr. Lyons, who was one of the officers of the 
church, because the doctor had at various times ex- 
pressed his firm belief in the efficacy of fresh air, and 
had pointed out more strongly than Salter thought 
necessary, the dangers arising from overcrowding 
and overheating of churches and public buildings. I 
felt sure that my friend was entirely mistaken in his 
estimate of Doctor Lyons. Doctor Namen, too, was 
an officer, but so dignified was he that few people 
thought of ever asking him any question other than 
was absolutely necessary. His dignity, combined 
with a large, substantially built body, commanded 
respect, and gave the impression to the people, with 
whom he came in contact, that he was a wonderful 
man. Exactly how far they were mistaken, I do 
not know, but I recollect that he was brusque in his 
manner, a man with but few strong friends, but a 
favorite companion of the Rev. Mr. Barnaby. He 



FLANNEL OR NO FLANNEL. 65 

was evidently not a friend of Doctor Lyons, who, as 
he said, " talked too much." 

Having canvassed the probable condition of my 
wife's health, and each in turn having suggested a 
remedy, the guests passed to other subjects. After 
supper, as we were seated in the parlor, allusion was 
made to the weather, and the question arose as to 
the necessity of flannel with babies and children. 
Mrs. Lazelle thought it didn't make much difference 
how you dressed children, they would get dirty and 
they would catch cold in spite of you. For her part, 
she was tired of always fussing as to what her chil- 
dren should wear. Mr. Barnaby, having lately read 
the Crosstown Herald of Health, took the ground 
that flannel should always be worn. As a u non- 
conductor" it did not have its equal. Miss Oley 
quietly remarked that some skins, she believed, could 
not bear flannel well. Mrs. Percy said her boys had 
never worn it, and had never suffered from the want 
of it. Their skins would bear anything, but what 
was needed was to feed them up well. " If you put 



66 HARD TO DECIDE. 

good, solid food into them, yon won't need flannel 
outside." Mrs. Jones thought that all children were 
not alike. Some of her children could wear flannel 
and some could not. Woolen socks would make 
Tom's feet tender, while Susie couldn't go without 
them. She had learned by experience that some- 
times two pair of cotton stockings gave more warmth 
than one pair of woolen ones, that a loosely -woven 
garment was lighter and, she really believed, warmer 
than a closely-knit one. If she could afford to buy 
them, and the children could wear them, she would 
have w T oolen undergarments, of varying thickness for 
the different seasons of the year. And she did not 
consider it safe, in such day s as these, to rely entirely 
upon the child's natural health to preserve him 
against the elements. I agree w T ith Mrs. Lazelle, 
that it is hard work to have to constantly plan for 
your children ; but then I don't know of any other 
way we have to keep them well and happy. 

"To be sure," said Mrs. Billings, " I haven't chil- 
dren, and perhaps I am just as well off. But then, 



THE OATMEAL QUESTION. 6? 

Mrs. Jones, don't you tie yourself down too much. 
Just have a nice nurse girl to mind yours, and go 
out more." 

I could not help thinking to myself how in the 
world can Jones hire a nurse girl, when only by the 
strictest economy can he manage to keep his large 
family. He- was fortunate in having the wife he had. 
Lazelle was receiving three times as large a salary as 
Jones, and had but four children ; but they always 
looked as if they were neglected, and they undoubt- 
edly were. 

After the subject of dress was quite exhausted, 
various topics were disposed of. Mrs. Percy be- 
came quite eloquent over the advantages to be 
derived from oatmeal as a food for children. Mr. 
Barnaby endorsed all she said, and added " that all 
children could be made to like it. Such a food, con- 
taining all the elements of nutrition, rich in nitrates 
and phosphates, and capable of sustaining life, should 
be eaten by everybody/' He had it always on his 
table for breakfast, Salter asked if that was all that he 



6§ SAMPLE CHILDREN. 

had. " Oh. no, v replied Mr. B., u but it is the regular 
dish. Generally there is meat and potatoes, coffee, 
rolls and eggs ; but then we couldn't do without the 
oatmeal, it's so strengthening, and is so rich in brain 
food. I doubt very much whether I could get along 
without it.'' 

Mrs. Jones again did not believe that all children 
were alike as to eating. Before she had had chil- 
dren she supposed they were. Now she thought 
differently. 

In the midst of an animated discussion as to the 
best method of training children to be obedient, and 
during an interchange of views, founded upon 
•• Helen's Babies n as sample children. I was called 
up stairs to my wife, who I found was in great pain. 
The doctor was sent for, and pronounced the trouble 
tc be pneumonia, probably. 

" Your wife is to be kept quiet, no visitors are to 
be allowed in the room, and in the condition she 
is now in, it may after all be necessary to procure a 
wet-nurse for the baby. At least you had better be 



PLANNING. 69 



on the look-out, for if to-morrow we find pneumonia 
has set in, then it will not do for the baby to continue 
nursing." 

Down stairs I went, and after all the company had 
gone, planned out a scheme for procuring a reliable 
wet nurse. 



Chapter VI. 



WANTED — A WET NURSE. 



[ MUST confess that now, at the end of six weeks' 
experience with a baby, I was not convinced that 
raising one was always such an easy matter as some 
of my friends believed it to be, or, at least, professed 
to. One day John seemed to thrive, but the next 
he drooped. At one time Lena was bright and hope- 
ful, while at another she was despondent. Having 
read carefully the books loaned me by Doctor Lyons, 
it did not add to my peace of mind, to possess the 
knowledge that much of the drooping and despon- 
dency might have been prevented had we done " so 
and so," or followed this or that plan. 

Enough for me to know that there had been plenty 
o\ worry, various misunderstandings, considerable 
expense, and, in spite of all, nursing was really to be 
desisted from, at least by the mother, The doctor 
had called the morning after the christening, and pro- 
nounced the disease pneumonia. He did not believe, 



ADVERTISEMENTS. J\ 

under the circumstances — no matter how soon Lena 
might recover — that she ought to continue nursing. 

How the baby was to be fed, then, became a mat- 
ter of the deepest interest. I had already decided, in 
my own mind, that a wet nurse should be had. 
Mother agreed with me, while Mrs. Vincent urged 
the use of cow's milk, " if Mr. Matthews could be sure 
of the milk he would obtain ;" but as Mr. Matthews 
did not see the way clear toward a certainty, she re- 
luctantly agreed to have a wet-nurse, though Lena 
felt keenly averse to having any one act as a " foster- 
mother " to her baby. 

It was a ray of comfort to me, to feel that Lena 
would thrive and be herself again, if she recovered 
from her sickness, and as for our boy, it had become 
my duty, so it seemed, to hunt up a nurse. The doc- 
tor had told me to first answer advertisements, and 
had also instructed me somewhat as to the selection 
of a healthy, reliable woman. In addition, I had 
made good use of my medical books, and felt that I 
was quite competent to conduct a search in pursuit 
of a wet-nurse. So I cut out the following adver 
tisements from the day's New York Herald and put 
them in my note-book. 



TAKE YOUR CHOICE. 



Wanted. — A situation by a respectable woman, as 
wet-nurse. Call at No. 207 Avenue B, and inquire 
for Mrs. Malone, in the store. 

Wanted. — A healthy, trusty woman would like a 
situation as wet-nurse ; understands dry feeding-. Can 
be seen at Mrs. Sand's, 52 Sixtieth Street. 

Wanted. — By a perfectly reliable woman, a situa- 
tion as wet-nurse. A pleasant home more of an ob- 
ject than wages. Mrs. Badall, 20 East Twenty-eight 

Street. 

On the opposite page of my book were placed the 
items to the necessary qualifications in such a nurse 
as the advertisements pointed out. These necessary 
points had been taken from a standard medical work 
and were to be a guide in my operations. 

They were as follows * 

" She should be between twenty and thirtv years 
of age, the mother of at least two children. She 
should be healthy, with body well nourished. Her 
teeth should be sound. Ther should be no blood 
disease, as scrofula or consumption. The family 
history should be free from any trace of insanity. 
Her children should be healthy, and if she is nursing 
a child, it should show the effects of good nourish- 
ment. Her moral character should be good. She 
ought to be even-tempered — not given to outbursts 



MRS. MALONE. 73 



of anger. She ought not to be easily excited. She 
should be cleanly, temperate in her eating and 
drinking, willing and obliging. The milk under the 
microscope should show the following " 

Here I ceased to copy, believing that I had suffi- 
cient information to enable me to succeed in my 
undertaking. With the advertisements and the list 
of qualifications, I started out, and visited Mrs. 
Maione first. My early visit — for I left my house 
soon after breakfast — seemed to flurry the fat, good 
natured proprietor of the candy-store, No. 207 
Avenue B, near Public School No. 25. I mention 
the fact that the store was near a school, for the rea- 
son that I have learned since, in the years following 
that visit, that near many of our schools are similar 
shops, where school-children do congregate at recess 
time to eat poor candy, and where, by the crowding 
in of the children, and the very nature of the place, 
contagious diseases are spread abroad. 

It was a miserable shop, cramped and dirty. Be- 
hind it was the one small and dirty sitting, dining and 
bed-room combined. In this room sat Mrs. Maione. 
Evidently she had just risen from her night's sleep. 
What she might have looked like and how favorably 



74 " BABY FARMING.' 



she might have impressed me, had I called an hour or 
two later, I did not care to think about. Her big- 
baby in her arms showed that he had had sufficient 
food, but the dirt everywhere present, the general 
air of untidiness, and the sickening odor, due to the 
impure and confined air, dispelled any idea oi choos- 
ing the mother to care for my child. I have been 
told since then that the class of women represented 
by Mrs. Malone will rub off some of the dirt upon and 
about themselves, and tidy up somewhat, when em- 
ployers are expected, and that they do obtain situa- 
tions, the condition of their babies being their strong 
hand. Driven from a wretched home by drunken- 
ness or debt, they find refuge with friends, who al- 
low them to advertise from their own more respect- 
able quarters, and to stay till a situation is obtained. 
Then they pay part of their wages to the hostess, or 
the whole even, if the friends take charge of their 
babies. Thus " baby-farming" is begun. The escape 
from such a house and surroundings caused me to en 
joy, more than I had hitherto, the pleasantly warm 
and healthful air of the outer world. 

I then hurried to Sixtieth Street, easily found Mrs. 
Sands, who proved to be the wife of the janitor of a 



APPEARANCES. 75 



tenement house. I stated my errand, was asked to 
be seated till she ascertained whether Mrs. Hughes 
was in. She came back and soon a sharp voice was 
heard from the upper regions, inviting " the gentle- 
man up.'' I went up one flight of stairs, found a 
door open, and the head of a female protruding from 
it. 

" Do you wish to see Mrs. Hughes ?" said the same 
voice. 

u I wished to see tne person who put this adver- 
tisement in the paper," I replied. 

"Well, then, /am Mrs. Hughes, and will you walk 
in, sir? v 

The impression I had at the time was, that the 
woman had not expected an employer to come, but 
was on the lookout for a messenger to summon her 
to some lady's house. Finding that an employer 
had come, she became very talkative, entered into a 
somewhat detailed history of her family, its pleasures 
as well as its pains. While she was thus engaged, I 
had an opportunity to glance about Ihe room and to 
study the woman. By the time she was through, I 
had concluded that she was healthy and strong, had 
good teeth, was cleanly in her dress, and was proba- 



^6 " WAYS THAT ARE DARK." 



bly free from any hereditary disease, if i could judge 
of such a point by the robust appearance of several 
children running in and out of the room, who, she 
said, belonged to her. So absorbed had f been in 
the study of my " qualifications, to which I referred 
from time to time, that I had not noticed that there 
was no infant in the room. Desiring tc see the baby, 
she said she would go after it, for it had been left for 
a little while with a neighbor across the hall. 

Back she came with a splendid specimen of a child. 
As Mrs. Hughes was healthy and clean, and had 
raised such a fine specimen of a baby, she would be 
just the woman for us, I thought. So I put my book 
in my pocket and was about to make some arrange- 
ment toward engaging the woman, when a remark 
from one of the children led me to question Mrs. H. 
as to the age of the baby in her arms. A little cross- 
examination confounded the woman, and I soon 
found that the child was not hers. Crossing over to 
her neighbor's, on the other side of the hallway, 
there I found the real mother of the baby, and a 
little, puny, weazen-faced, dry-skinned apology for 
an infant, which belonged to the Hughes family. 
The " obliging neighbor " had only done a " little 



"TRICKS THAT ARE VAIN/ >]J 

kindness in changing babies,'' as Mrs. H. said. Here, 
then, was a large, strong woman, who failed in bring- 
ing up a baby by nursing. No one knows how many 
times she had failed before, for her own children had 
died early, she said, of spasms, and cholera infantum. 
The children, then, that I had seen about the room, 
were her husband's, and yet this woman wished to 
impose herself on some confiding mother and child. 

^No wonder, then, that she had thought it best, to 
attempt to inderstand " dry feeding," whatever that 
might be. 

There was but one place left for me now to go to. 
This business of hunting up a wet-nurse had about 
exhausted me* physically. Certainly I was disgusted 
with squalor and deception. It was pleasant, there- 
fore, to find that the next advertisement on my list 
had come from a respectable person, in a respectable 
neighborhood in Twenty-eighth Street. Mrs. Badall 
proved to be a woman who would answer to all 
necessary " qualifications " as far as 7" could see, ex- 
cept that she had no baby to show me, for the little 
one had just died one week before from sudden con- 
vulsions. She was a very agreeable person to talk 
to, had had such a sad experience with her own 



78 MRS. VINCENT PROPHESIES. 

baby, and was so anxious to find a home for a short 
time, in order to relieve her husband of the expenses 
of housekeeping while he was idle.; and then she 
was so warmly endorsed by Mrs. TThalev, the land- 
lady, that I agreed to employ her, if, after a week's 
trial, everything was satisfactory. She was to re- 
ceive twenty -five dollars a month. Within twenty- 
four hours Mrs. Badall was installed as wet-nurse. 
The services of Mrs. Lawrence were now dispensed 
with, and the care of Lena in her illness devolved 
upon our two mothers. Through their untiring care 
and Doctor Lyons' skill, at the end of two weeks my 
wife was quite like her old self again. 

It was strange that when our mothers were caring 
for Lena, nothing seemed to ruffle them, but intro- 
duce the subject of the " care of babies/' and almost 
instantly there were strongly expressed differences 
of opinion. My mother pointed with joy to the 
thriving condition of our boy under Mrs. Badall's 
care. Mrs. Vincent prophesied that something 
,; would vet turn up wrong with the woman. She 
had never known much good to come from wet- 
nurses. ? ' The infant certainly was improved in health 
and temper. The nurse seemed devoted to him, and 



BREAKERS AHEAD. 79 

the little fellow already clung to her in preference to 
his mother. 

For three weeks all went on well. During the 
fourth, as our mothers, Lena and I, sat in our cozy 
sitting-room one evening, sounds of loud talking pro- 
ceeded from down stairs. On inquiry it was found 
that Mr. Badall had called in a state of intoxication, 
and demanded that he should see his wife. Our 
nurse was completely overcome, and had a hysteri- 
cal fit. In the night I was hastily summoned to see 
the baby. There he was with a hot skin, with eye- 
lids twitching occasionlly. He was very nervous 
and very irritable. Toward morning he seemed 
better. We all noticed that our nurse did not seem 
as cheerful after her husband's visit as before, that 
she was easily excited, that little things nettled her. 
The boy, too, became irritable. For three consecu- 
tive nights was I up, nearly all the time trying to 
quiet or relieve some one or other of the family. 

Pity for the nurse and our baby had unnerved for 
the time the members of my family. Hence it was 
that I endeavored, with a m jdicine-book and a case 
of medicinal pellets, to ward off the visits of even 
o%? good doctor, for such visits were costly, and I 



80 WANTED — A PARTNER. 

had already paid out more money than my salary 
would safely allow ; but the " night-work " was telling 
on me. 

It is not agreeable either to be roused from sleep 
to " mix poultices,'' to make catnip tea, or to lug 
upstairs earthen bottles full of boiling water. My 
only wish was that there might be another man in 
the house to whom might be committed a share of 
this work, or he might perform the whole of it. 
The pellets, poultices, etc., not acting with sufficient 
power to arouse the nurse, the doctor had to be sent 
for. 

li Well," he said, after listening to my vivid descrip- 
tion of what had befallen us, " you have had a tough 
time of it Matthews, but it will not do to keep Mrs. 
Badall. If she is so easily disturbed, there is no 
knowing what may happen to your boy. Perhaps 
her own child died from convulsions brought on after 
some row with her husband. Such things have hap- 
pened, and will occur again. She is not a safe 
woman. We must try another nurse. Now, this 
time don't answer advertisements, but advertise and 
send the women to me, or, better still, let me adver- 
tise. Then, if we don't succeed, you can try the va- 



MORE ADVERTISING. 



rions wet-nurse agencies and public institutions. Get 
an American or Englishwoman if you can, but I don't 
believe you will find one. They won't nurse other 
children than their own, as a rule, even if the highest 
wages are paid." 

So the nurse was sent away, and in the evening 
paper appeared the following advertisements : 

Wanted. — At No. 264 Tenth Street, an honest, re- 
liable, healthy and even-tempered wet-nurse. She 
must be well recommended, and must not be peculiar. 
None others need apply. 

Wanted. — By Doctor Lyons, a wet-nurse. Office 
hours, 8 to 10 a.m. 4 to 6 p.m. 



Chapter VII. 



ON THE TRAIL. 



\fyTHEN Lena saw our advertisements in the paper, 
she rated me for the wording of mine, saying, 
" Rob, no woman will ever answer such an advertis- 
ment as yours. You ask too much. Don't you remem- 
ber your experience at the intelligence office, dear?" 
I did remember going to the office, asking for a do- 
mestic, and having one sent to me. When I asked 
her if she drank, she replied, " J>rink, is it ; shure 
and I do, both tay and Icafay, and if yer want a 
woman that don't drink, yer'll not be after nndin' 
her here." Now, I did not mean to insult the ser- 
vant — only hoped to get some information, and to be 
sure of a sober person ; bu' it was some little time, 
that day, before a woman could be prevailed on to go 
with me. 

As no person did appear in answer to my adver- 
tisement, save a tall, scrawny-looking female, my 
faith in my wife's common sense and tact was in- 



"want to buy a goat." 83 

creased. This taA woman bore the appearance of 
having seen better days, but there was a certain in- 
definable air of laziness about her that would not al- 
low me to employ her, though she had the best of 
recommendations. Testimonials as to character are 
only valuable, T have found, when they are given by 
persons who are not in the habit of writing them. 
Her letters had come either Irom enthusiastic, pity- 
ing people, or I did not appreciate all the good quali- 
ties bound up in the listless woman before me. At 
any rate, so disgusted was I in my efforts to procure 
a wet-nurse, that I resolved to let the selection rest 
with the doctor ; so I notified him of that conclusion, 
and went to business, fully determined to throw my- 
self into work, and forget home cares. 

I should have succeeded had not Salter plied me 
with questions about wet-nurses, and bringing up 
babies. " Say Bob, don't you want a goat ? I know 
where you can buy one cheap. Perhaps you wish a 
cow. Can get you one, if you like." Then there 
would be a rest of a few moments, in which I endeav- 
ored to apply myselt to accounts. " Bob, now that I 
think of it, there is a new baby-food in the market, 
which might answer. It has a long Greek name to 



4 THE PICTURE OX THE WRAPPER. 



it. which I can't remember, but that don't make anv 
difference. All of them, nearly (so the druggists say), 
have such names, or try to have. Then, there is a 
picture on the wrapper — of some baby that has 
been fed on the food. Believe that would just suit 
you ; suupose you try it ? If vou realh want a reli- 
able wet-nurse, there is Mrs. Flynn's stepdaughter,*' 
etc., etc. 

I was fullv satisfied with my hunt for wet-nurses, 
and did not relish the suggestion by Doctor Lyons, 
that evening, of our starting out together to visit 
2gencies and institutions the following morning. But 
remembering that the next day would be a holiday, 
and that, after all, there was nothing like learning 
about people and things. I agreed. The answers to 
the doctor's advertisement had not pleased him, 
so he decided to devote some time to the proposed 
visit. 

" The fact is," said Doctor L — , ''that I generally 
resort to artificial feeding where there is so much 
dimcultv in procuring a wet-nurse, as in your case, 
but it must be the right sort of feeding : so it hap- 
pens that I seldom go after a wet-nurse. We will 
first visit the agencies — if there are any — for it is sup- 



MRS. QUIRK'S AGENCY. 85 

posed by many that just what we want we can find 
there. My impression is, that there are but few 
agencies for the procuring of nurses in the United 
States, and that, as yet, there is no real systematic ef- 
fort to furnish the persons most needing nurses with 
just the right kind of women. There are many relia- 
ble but poor mothers, who might and ought to earn 
sufficient money by wet-nursing the children of their 
well-to-do neighbors to provide quite nicely for the 
wants of their own little families. In the country, or 
in small towns where wet-nursing may have to be re- 
sorted to, neighbors are quite often made use of. In 
our cities we are subjected to impositions in various 
ways. It is a pity that we cannot prevail on more of 
these poor and reliable mothers to take care of our 
children — even if they came every morning to our 
homes and left every night.'' 

As the doctor was talking we arrived at Mrs. 
Quirk's agency, 620 Second Avenue. The rooms 
occupied by Mrs. Quirk and her nurses were on the 
lowest floor of an old-fashiored brick house. They 
were dark. The ceilings were so low that a medium 
sized man might reach them by standing on tip-toe. 
In the front room, at one end, was Mrs. Quirk's desk, 



86 MRS. QUIRK. 



books of account, and for registry; The furniture of 
the room was made up of unfortunate chairs and set- 
tees—here an arm missing, there a piece of a leg 
spliced to its old companion piece. Around the walls 
were signs and notices, wrought out by various per- 
sons undoubtedly, on different colored paper, in vari- 
ous shades of divers colors. One informed us that 
" Nurses of all nationalities can be procured here ; 
also servants, waiters, coachmen," etc., etc., etc. 
Another proclaimed that u Wet-nurses are always on 
hand. Special attention paid to procuring reliable, 
trusty women. Physicians and others can put im 
plicit faith in the nurses obtained here." A third 
notice, emphasized in very large black letters, on a 
white card, that " this agency has no connection what 
ever with Mr. Seville's ;" that " it is the only reliable 
wet-nurse agency in the city." 

Mrs. Quirk — a woman of medium height, with a 
dumpish figure, covered with a dirty calico gown — 
received the doctor and myself with a bow and a 
cordiai shaking of hands, which meant business with 
every shake. 

Alter stating that for five dollars she would fur- 
nish wet-nurses, if necessary, for three months, and 



SPOON FEED. 87 



after having enlarged on the advantages she possessed 
for obtaining the best of women from institutions, 
and on her superior class of customers from Fifth 
Avenue and Madison Avenue, as compared with Mr. 
Seville's ''trades-people," she ushered us into the 
back-room. 

There seated were women of all ages, so it seemed 
to me at first glance, but a second look and and in- 
quiry of Mrs. Quirk convinced me that none were 
over forty years of age, though they were careworn. 
The majority, so I learned, were unmarried woman 
with children. There were mothers there who could 
not have been over seventeen years of age, many of 
good parentage, all trying to obtain positions in order 
to support themselves and their babies. Mrs. Quirk 
informed me that when the nurses obtain places, their 
own babies are cared for in institutions for children, 
or by women who take children to 'spoon feed.' 
The doctor remarked " that babies cared for by such 
women, with their meagre knowledge of a baby's na- 
ture and of the right kind and mode of feeding, must 
die in large numbers.'' 

" Oh, no, doctor," said Mrs. Quirk, in a remonstra- 
tive tone of voice, " you ought to see how healthy 



88 "ALL SORTS." 



they are. Of course come die, but only w:th Summer 
troubles. 3 * 

Out came my :io A e=book, and in it I made a 
memorandum of a proposed visit to one of these 
" baby-farming '' establishments. By this time in our 
baby's life I had begun to feel that I had learned 
something. 

Passing along the line of waiting woman, the doc- 
tor and Mrs. Quirk asked questions and took obser- 
vations. There was a young, timid mother — a mere 
girl in appearance — but bearing the stamp of a good 
family. One was coarse-skinned, vulgar in appear- 
ance, dirty in dress. Another had the thin skin and 
reddish hair so indicative of a sensitive organization. 
By her side sat the embodiment of keen prejudices 
and quick temper, in her flashing dark eyes and her 
darker hair. The muscular type of woman was there 
as well as the flabby, lymphatic one. There were 
all sorts of women, with all sorts of ideas, except the 
right ones — none could come up to the standard of 
my " qualifications," and, as the doctor was not satis- 
fied, we called at Mr. Seville's. Like some other 
French (?) establishments in our large cities, Seville's 
was an American one. The only signs of French 



A MODEL AGENCY. 8q 



about the place were seen in a sign which announced 
the fact that " v/e speak French here/ 5 and in a 
woman attendant who evidently did all the talking 
that was done on Seville's side. Seville himself was 
an enterprising American, and so was his wife. 
There was none of the darkness, fussiness and mussi- 
ness here that was seen at Mrs. Quirk's. Everything 
was clean. The proprietor understood how to reach 
the eye and ear, as well as the nose, of the average 
citizen. 

His notices were uniform as to size and color. His 
furniture was well adapted to its uses. The women 
in his agency were required to be cleanly dressed, as 
long as they were in his rooms. He and his wife un- 
derstood fully the value of white linen caps and aprons 
in hiding defects and deficiencies, and in giving to 
the decidedly Irish face and figure an appearance 
similar to the French bonnes. 

Mrs. Quirk had derisively spoken of his place as 
the trade-peoples'. So it was, but it also had the 
patronage of the wealthy. His little artifices to 
gain the patronage of any one needing a servant or 
a nurse had proved wonderfully successfully in spite 
of Mrs. Quirk. The clerk on a small salary, the 



go " ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT." 

tradesman in a small way, the man of moderate in- 
come and the wealthy, were sure to consult Monsieur 
Seville before obtaining a wet-nurse. And yet Doc- 
tor Lyons pointed out to me the same class of women 
that we had seen at Mrs. Quirk's. It was ascertained 
that the same fee was asked as at Mrs. Quirk's ; that 
the women were obtained from the same sources, 
except, perhaps, that this agency, being considered 
by people at large a little more " respectable," 
there were few of the poor but reliable married 
women present, of whom Doctor Lyons had already 
spoken. With all the outside show, and the air of 
business respectability, a thorough examination by 
the doctor could not elicit from the proprietors any 
reliable information as to any such systematic records 
and plans of work done or to be accomplished as 
would satisfy any thorough person. 

u There is yet room for improvement," said the 
doctor, " and it is strange that our philanthropic 
women have not seen the need of a well planned sys- 
tem for the supply of proper wet-nurses. I under- 
stand that there is still another agency, managed ex- 
clusively by ladies ; let us go there. Then we can 
visit a few of the institutions, and thus decide upon a 



THEIR PLAN. QI 



selection of a nurse. Perhaps this society — agency 
as it is called — controlled by ladies, may prove, after 
all, just the one.'' 

We called there, and found three lady-like business- 
women in charge. Everything was neat and in order. 
Their plan was not to have the nurses at their rooms, 
but to keep a list of names and residences, and to 
send for the women when needed, or to send the pro- 
posed employers to their respective homes. As to 
any clear record of the ability of the woman to care 
for babies properly, of the character, health present 
and previous, or any necessary qualification, there 
was none. When asked whether there was any med- 
ical supervision of the nurses, one of the ladies replied 
" that they did have a doctor whenever it was neces- 
sary, but she did not think it was necessary ." 

Doctor Lyons then urged the importance of having 
every woman examined by a careful physician. 

u I well remember," he said, " how anxious a 
wealthy patient of mine was to procure a suitable 
nurse. For several days all sorts of efforts were 
made to obtain one that would answer. Several were 

tried and discharged. Finally, Mr. H announced 

with great satisfaction, that he had found 'just the 



02 SUMMING UP. 



one.' A carriage was sent over to Brooklyn, and the 
nurse was brought to my office. She was in appar- 
ent good health— just the right age— just the person, 
except that I discovered upon her chest an eruption, 
which told of a blood-poison which must not be com- 
municated to the child of Mr. H. I might relate sev- 
eral cases which go to show the importance of care 
in selection ; but as Mr. Matthews and myself must 
hasten, I bid you good day," Armed with cards of 
admission, we then called at the Institutions — the 
Muncipal Hospital, St. Anthony's Retreat, and vari- 
ous homes and asylums. In some, the officers were 
gruff, disobliging and pompous. In others they were 
obsequious even to a disagreeable degree. At one 
" home " a lady-manager present spoke warmly in 
behalf of a young woman. We ascertained afterward 
that the bright side of the picture only had been 
shown us, so anxious was the lady to procure a situa- 
tion for the one she was interested in. In fact, we 
learned several things that day which may thus be 
summed up : 

First, that if one expects to procure a nurse, he or 
she must have tact and common sense. Second, all is 
not reliable that is said to be. Third, when there is 
reliability, there may not be suitability. 






FOR " BABY S SAKE. 93 



It was quite dark when I arrived home that even- 
ing, and soon after me came Sarah, the nurse chosen 
at one of the private institutions. 

" We will make a trial or two, more" said the 
doctor, and we did. This ScirJi was tall, healthy, 
clean and lady-like, but the one mistake for us was, 
her possession of an immense appetite. Nothing 
seemed to fully satisfy ricr. Bowls of gruel, tea, 
chocolate and broma — plates full of vegetables and 
meat were disposed of, and all for " the dear baby's 
sake.'' 

The little fellow did thrive, but the butcher's and 
grocer's bills were enlarging. Some of my readers 
may have met with such a mammoth eater, and can 
fully appreciate the difficulty we labored under. 
Salter suggested that I had better buy a cow and feed 
the nurse plenty of milk. " It will be economy in the 
end, Bob ; you may depend on it." Little by little our 
nurse became more exacting, and astonished my wife 
by giving orders to the domestic as to what she 
wished for her meals. To discharge the nurse and 
feed the baby, or to take her by herself and admonish, 
as a father only can, was now a question to be 
settled. 



Chapter VIII. 



REPORTS PROGRESS. 



^O MEET the emergency nozu presented was not 
easy. One might speak of dress, and even of man- 
ners, but to suggest that an employee should eat less 
savored of stinginess. For some time our mothers, 
Lena and I, argued as to the best method of ap- 
proaching the nurse on such a tender subject as her 
food. My wife dreaded a " scene," and it was surpris- 
ing how little Mrs. Vincent and my mother cared for 
a tongue-to-tongue encounter. 

The baby seemed to be doing so well that even 
Mrs. Vincent was unwilling to discharge the nurse. 
My mother did think it " a shame that she should eat 
so much." and so did Ave all, and after a warm discus- 
sion upon the subject, it was decided that Mrs. Vin- 
cent shou. I have a talk with Sarah. So, upon the 
next day, she was invited into the sitting-room. 

u Sarah," said Mrs. V.. believing in this instance, 
that it was best to be conciliatory, ' ; the baby is doing 



MANEUVERING. 95 



very nicely — much better than I ever expected he 
would." 

" Yes, ma'am, I know he is, and he is as fine n little 
fellow as ever you would find.'' 

" But don't he pull you down,'' asked Mrs. Vincent. 
" he has grown so fat and heavy ?'' 

*' Shure and he would, if I didn't have a good ap- 
petite, and can eat enough for the both of us. Don't 
I have to tell Kate in the kitchen not to make the tea 
so sloppy. The poor little dear would never get fat 
on such weak stuff as that. If I wasn't all the time 
speaking to Kate about the victuals, I don't think I'd 
have a ha'penny worth for the child. Savin' your 
presence, ma'am, when I nursed Mr. Judge O'Leary's 
baby, four years ago, I had my ale with the best of 
them, and now that you speak of it, a glass now and 
then would do the youngster a heap of good." 

" I did not speak of ale, Sarah, or of any spirituous 
drink, for I do not approve of such things. It was 
never intended that women should take such abom- 
inable stuff. I hope and trust Mr. Matthews will 
never consent to any such food as that for a nurse. 

Why, it would be the ruination " Here Mrs. 

Vincent, remembering that she had yet to talk calmly 



$6 DEFEATED. 

about food, regained her ordinary serenity. "Sarah 
you were speaking a few moments ago about eating. 
Don't you really think, my dear woman, that perhaps, 
after all, you eat too much food for your own good ? 
You know, sometimes a good deal of food will make 
people bilious, and I have noticed lately that your skin 
is not quite as clear as it was when you came to us. 
Perhaps, if you took a little less food than you do, 
you would feel brighter. You know you complain 
of a dull headache very often." 

" Yes, ma'am, I do have a headache once in a while, 
but it is not because I eat too much. When I was at 
home, my ould mother used to say I ate lightly, 
and would I now eat smaller than that? I couldn't 
do it, ma'am — the baby would starve." 

So Mrs. Vincent retired, defeated, and after a couple 
of days it was thought best that Lena should try her 
powers of persuasion. 

Sarah had begun now to be suspicious, and was 
qi "ite prepared for any assault, so that when my wife, 
in the kindest manner possible, suggested that it 
might be better for us if Sarah kept out of the kitchen 
and took her meals when the family did theirs, she 
was answered with : 



NURSE THREATENS. 97 

" Do you think, Mrs. Matthews, that 1 came here 
to starve voir baby and myself? All of you want a 
fat baby, and you want the nurse of it to live like the 
rest of you, who don't have a baby to nurse. The 
best thing for the whole of us is to get another 
woman to take care of the boy, and I'd better go 
now." 

At the mention of the baby's being left to pass 
through similar tribulations to those imposed after the 
departure of Mrs. Badall, my wife burst into tears. 
She was soon followed by Sarah, who declared " that 
going would break her heart, just as she loved the lit- 
tle darling and he would mourn for her ; but then it 
would be best." 

Lena could not say anything further. The result 
was that Sarah staid on. She ate at regular times 
now, but the times were quite often, and we could 
not see that any less food was consumed than before. 
Whenever any hint was broached as to the food, 
Sarah took it up and proposed to leave. So it hap- 
pened that affairs remained in this way for one month 
longer, when we were again called upon to meet an 
emergency. Baby had of late been cross, and cried 
very often. Even at night we heard his short, fretful 



98 mrs. Vincent's opinion. 

cries, with occasionally a long one, indicative, so the 
books said ? of pain or hunger. Believing that a 
pin might be pricking, or a pain griping, the boy re- 
ceived from his grandmothers various robbings, and 
a number of the usual home remedies, to be applied 
internally, externally, and it seemed to me, eternally ; 
but the relief was only temporary. MrSo Vincent, on 
the lookout for disturbing causes, finally gave it as 
ner opinion that the baby wasn't getting sufficient 
food ; that she believed the nurse's milk was failing. 
And so it was. Again was Doctor Lyons appealed 
to to help our baby. 

He first advised that the nurse should be dis- 
charged ; 

" She would not change her ideas as to eating, 
and in proportion as she grows fat and large, just 
in that proportion will the secretions diminish proba- 
bly ° . Your experience, Mr. Matthews, with nurses, 
has already taught you that the largest, finest-looking 
women may not be best adapted to care for children. 
Women who get insufficient food may not be able to 
a e, and the same with those who use too much, 
l&Zg# women, with an excess of fat and muscie s 



DECEPTION AND TRICKERY. 99 

women with an excess of nervous development, may 
not be able to feed naturally. The trouble with this 
last nurse of yours has been that she has been add- 
ing to the size of her own body at the expense of 
the secretions. Probably at home she did eat 
lightly, as she says, but it was because she had but 
little to eat, or did not have a variety of food. When 
she came to you, she did as she probably was ac- 
customed to do at Judge O'Leary's she speaks about 
— that is, gormandize. You can see, Matthews, by 
this time, some of. the trials we have with nurses. 
Occasionally we do find excellent women — mentally 
and physically — but they are exceptions. Bear in 
mind the class of women we saw at the agencies 
and institutions, many of them already broken-down 
in health and spirits, entirely unfit to care for any 
childo Some absolutely so diseased that their toucu 
was contamination. Look at the deception and 
trickery practiced in private as well as public insti- 
tutions! Think of the carelessness and negligence 
everywhere apparent — the struggle for employment 
and money, without regard for truthfulness or the 
good of the employer — and do you wonder that 



IOO THE AVERAGE WET-NURSE. 

ladies are continually deceived as to their nurses? 
The average nurse believes that she must have ale 
or lager- beer ; these drinks may be of service with 
some women at certain times, but plenty of cow's 
milk, nourishing soups and broths, are better. A re- 
liable extract of malt is more serviceable than any 
malt liquor. The average wet-nurse is a peculiar 
character, well worthy to be the object of the de- 
scriptive powers of a Dickens, but Mrs. Matthews, 
we must decide as to the baby. Sarah will not take 
any steps toward following out any plan by which 
she might regain lost ground, so she must leave. 
To-morrow I will send you a very nice woman, who 
may be able to stay with you through the day and 
care for the baby, and you will have to look out for 
it at night by feeding. The boy is getting to be 
nearly five months old now, and will stand it, I 
hope. We rdght feed him entirely, to be sure, if 
everybody was careful, but the warm weather is 
coming, and it may be well to have nursing to fall 
back upon. This Mrs. Leonard is a very respect- 
able American woman, with a baby soma three 
months older than yours. But that, I hope, will 
make no difference. She can have her baby fed in 
the daytime." 






baby's perversity. ioi 



Mrs. Leonard came, and in every way she an- 
swered our purpose. We could find no fault, but 
what can I say as to the nights ? Before this I had 
had but little to do with baby at night. Now I was 
forced bv circumstances to attend to him. He would 
have fits of crying, or, in the middle of the night, 
would lie on his back, wide awake, crowing and 
laughing. 

The light had been kept burning for his especial 
benefit, but he cried just the same. It was my duty 
— planned out by our good mothers — to turn up or 
down the light as it became necessary, to attend to 
the heating of flannels whenever needed, to warm the 
catnip, to take my turn at hushing the baby — in fact, 
to do just what they would have done were they in 
my place, in my room. 

One night, in turning down the light, it went out, 
and before I could find a match to relight the gas, 
the boy had calmed down and gone to sleep. Quite 
often the light went out after this, and generally 
with the same result. Mrs. Percy, hearing of this 
incident, gave it as her experience that '* a light was 
entirely .inoecessary ;" for, except with her first 
baby for a while, ths;. never had one at night. Mrs. 
Lazeile couidn t get along: without them. 



102 CUTTING TEETH. 



Just about one week after Mrs. Leonard's arrival, 
the little fellow seemed to be unusually troublesome. 
Our good-hearted servant knew "it was the teeth 
that was at him." The rest of the family eagerly 
indorsed Kate's opinion, and then did I find that the 
first tooth was as anxiously watched for as the first 
baby itself is. From the tossing and rolling of the 
head, from an occasional heat of skin, on account of 
" druling," from the fact that the baby munched his 
nurse's fingers as well as the fingers of any one in 
reach — because he eagerly grasped anything avail- 
able, and put it, if possible, into his capacious little 
mouth — u he was cutting his tooth." 

Well, I can only say that babies choose very in- 
opportune times for such things. Had he decided 
to do all thi^ when we had a nurse, well and good, 
but to pick out this especial time, when I was in 
charge, was not fair ; so I appealed to the grand- 
mothers, and they took my place, while I occupied 
the room up-stairs ; but the teeth didn't come 
through till fully six weeks from that time, and then 
only one little solitary tooth made its appearance, as 
if it was afraid to intrude. 

This six weeks had been time enough for an im- 



THE FIRST TOOTH, 103 



mense amount of speculation as to the number of 
teeth that would come, time enough for the friends 
in the neighborhood to pour into my wife's ears the 
details as to the cutting of all the teeth of all their 
children. Fortunately, our boy had not been trouble- 
some for the whole of the six weeks. For a few days 
he was restless, and the friends would suppose that 
the tooth was about to show itself, then he would 
calm down. This was repeated several times before 
the venturesome tooth appeared. This I found was 
the history of many teeth. 

After the tooth had really pushed its way through 
to the surface, it was shown with delight to many 
friends ; but Mrs. Lazelle couldn't help remarking 
that " her babies all cut their teeth before five months, 
and, in fact, one of them, Leonora, was as early as 
three months." She failed to continue, as we thought 
she might, and show that, notwithstanding this early 
dentition, there were no poorer teeth in the neigh- 
borhood, perhaps, than those belonging to these very 
children of Mrs. Lazelle. 

The minister's wife went into ecstasies over the 
tooth, and while she dandled the baby, talked to it of 
its " tootsey-pootsey," whatever that might be. The 



i04 AN " UNKNOWN TONGUE. 

ladies informed me afterward that that was baby- 
talk. It was well that I learned what it was, for I 
was doomed for some time to listen to just such talk 
from Mrs.-Barnaby whenever she called, and as Mrs. 
Barnaby was rather looked upon by many of the 
church people as being about right, it was not sur- 
prising that Miss Denny occasionally let fall a word 
in this unknown tongue. Even the careful, educated 
Miss Oley, found herself at times checking herself. 
To this day I cannot see the sense of saying u day, 
day and ta, ta," when a baby is asked about going 
out for a walk, etc., but ladies evidently did then and 
still do. 

Mrs. Jones sterling good sense was 01 great use 
to us, whenever she had the time to give us a call and 
furnish us with some of her carefully wrought-out 
experience. She was an observing woman, who did 
not take everything for granted that she read or saw, 
and it was well that she did not, for the Crosstown 
Health Journal (so-called) was making its way into 
the various families connected with our church with 
amazing rapidity. Heading the list of subscribers 
was the name of Rev. Joseph A. Barnaby, D.D., and 
foremost in the ranks of its admirers was the reverend 



VISITING OUR NEIGHBORS. 105 

gentleman. So thoroughly was Mr. B. in accord 
with the vital questions of the day that he felt it to 
be necessary to thoroughly ground himself in hygienic 
matters, as well as in theological and social problems, 
so he indorsed the Crosstown Journal. This he did 
the more readily as it was well understood that in a 
short time he would encourage the ladies in their 
efforts to establish a nursery, by the delivery of an 
address, full of facts and statistics showing the im- 
portance of a new institution for the care of the little 
ones. That many of his facts were to be taken from 
this Crosstown Journal was a strong advertisement 
for the magazine's agent, and he made good use 
of it. 

My wife and I, determined to learn what we could 
about babies in general, and ours in particular, de- 
cided that we would, after all, get interested in this 
new nursery, that we would visit our neighbors at 
their homes and study out children there, that we 
would keep a well-managed diary of events ; so the 
following evening we called at Mrs. Lazelle's. 



Chapter IX 



OUR NEIGHBOR S CHILDREN 



'pHAT my readers may not imagine that the writer 
has branched off, for the time being, to describe his 
neighbors, with the purpose in view of abandoning 
his baby, I will state that the child gradually became 
accustomed to the last change, and seemed to do 
well. 

While he zvas doing well, Lena and I, now thor- 
oughly aroused to the importance of knowledge as 
well as theory in the care of children, could conceive 
of no better way of acquiring it than to visit the very 
people at their homes who had called upon us and 
given their experience for our use. Not that I be- 
lieve it is well to always proceed in this way ; but we 
had already read over most of the books loaned by 
Dr. Lyons ; had had, in a short time, quite a varied 
experience, so we thought; and then we both of us 
believed that we had at least a little more common 
sense than the majority of young parents. 



MRS. LAZELLE'S "FOUR.' IO/ 

It was our purpose, then, to try to procure, through 
the mistakes and experience of other people, materia] 
that would serve in the future for the perfect brings 
ing up of our boy. 

You will remember that Mrs. Lazelle sadly claimed 
the ownership of four children, two boys and two 
girls — Gustavus, aged ten years; Leonora, seven 
years ; Sophronia, five years ; and the u baby,'' Au- 
gustus, of three and a half years of age. 

When we arrived at the pretty little house, four 
doors down, at just half-past eight, P.M., these four 
individuals greeted us at the door in a boisterous 
and not very agreeable manner. It so happened 
that when the door-bell rang, the two children who 
were up-stairs managed, by sliding down the ban- 
ister, or with giant strides, to come in collision with 
the two who had emerged from the sitting-room, and 
were rushing to the door. The consequence was 
that a mass of wriggling humanity found itself at the 
door in due time. 

To quiet these lively members of the family was 
not easy, and so Mrs. Lazelle found it, as she en- 
deavored to welcome us ; but the welcome lost some 
of its force, as the lady's voice seemed but a whis- 



108 "SIXES AND SEVENS." 

per amid the pervading- din. Finally, by the help 
of the father, the various children were disposed of 
for the time by being placed on chairs. Then, and 
not till then, had I an opportunity to look about me. 
From what I saw, and learned from outsiders after- 
ward, it appeared that the house had been built some 
twelve years before ; that it had been considered 
a neat, home-like residence — just such an one as 
a young couple would wish to begin their married 
life in. 

Little by little, additions had been built on. This 
room had been changed in shape, that one had been 
converted into a storeroom or closet. The first baby 
set Mrs. Lazelle t j planning for an enlargement of 
quarters, and this desire for a change had seemed to 
enlarge, with every successive baby, till at the time of 
our visit, she was ready at any time to " better " her- 
self, as she called it. So it came to pass that, owing 
to this restless spirit, and the possession of a family, 
the household furniture was no longer " matched.'' 
Ornamental articles were either sadly in need of re- 
pair, or were missing. Everything seemed to call 
aloud for somebody's care. At the time of her mar- 
riage, Mrs. Lazelle was young, pretty, proud and sen- 



"A DYSPEPTIC BABY. IO9 

sitive, with just enough money on hand for her to im- 
agine that they might live comfortably, so the pleas- 
ant little house was built. 

Lazelle was an agreeable gentleman, of good char- 
acter, also possessed of some money ; fond of his wife, 
but rather liking his ease. 

As long as the honeymoon lasted without a baby, 
the little discrepancies which arise in most families 
were smoothed away. 

When Gustavus arrived, and after the first out- 
break of joy was over, Mr. and Mrs. Lazelle found 
that a babe in a house might be a well-spring of pleas- 
ure, if it had no lungs or apparatus of voice, for the 
little fellow was born dyspeptic, and was subject to 
pain and griping. His mother was dyspeptic before 
him, but whether dyspepsia can be hereditary, has 
not, I believe, been fully ascertained. Being a dys- 
peptic baby, and the mother being of a nervous tem- 
perament, and her milk not agreeing with the child, 
a cow was purchased, and a nurse procured to feed 
the child with the cow's milk. Now this nurse and 
Mrs. Lazelle had some views in common, viz., that 
an occasional dose of laxative medicine was good for 
a baby, and that when a baby cried, especially at 



1 10 EFFECT OF " SLEEP DROPS. 

night, it was advisable to quiet it first by rocking 
and singing, and secondly by some soothing medicine 
or "sleep-drops," but as the medicine must always be 
at hand, it came about that it was more often used, 
perhaps, than the first method was. Doctor Namen, 
the doctor of the well-to-do classes, the man of dig- 
nity and reputation, was, of course, the one present at 
the birth of the first baby, and after he had made his 
few necessary visits, he did not call. As the child was 
easily relieved of a pain or quieted into a sleep by the 
magic draught, it was seldom deemed necessary to 
send for the physician. When he was sent for, he 
looked with great composure upon the puny, scream- 
ing baby, and suggested in his low, impressive voice, 
" that it might be well to give the child a warm foot- 
bath, to rub his back a little, and to dilute his milk a 
trifle more.' 5 The milk was diluted, the bath was 
given, and the back rubbed but the baby grew thin- 
ner and thinner, in spite of those attentions. When 
it had dwindled down into a marasmic infant and 
looked like an old man, with his dry and shriveled 
skin and its sunken eyes, then, and not till then, did 
Mrs. Lazelle see the importance of rousing herself. 
The first thing was to change the doctor^ so Doctor 
Pearsall was called in e 



A CATEGORY OF ILLS. 1 1 1 

This physician was a man of about forty years of 
age, well fed, contented with himself and the way 
in which the world had used him. Starting in his 
professional career with some money and energy, 
he had prospered. Naturally of a more cheerful 
disposition than Doctor Namen, he had made his 
mark in a shorter time. His energy combined with 
a practice he had of leaving the carrying-out of de- 
tails to his patients, won him many friends among 
the female portion of the population. 

When he assumed the charge of the Lazelle baby 
his observations soon showed him that the child 
could not prosper as long as the food was not di- 
gested, and laxatives were alternated with medicines 
to induce sleep. These difficulties were pointed out, 
and directions written down ; but there the matter 
ended. The child thrived quite well, but was sub- 
ject to fits of indigestion and attacks of fever. Twice 
did it have convulsions, once measles, once chicken- 
pox, once bronchitis, etc., etc., for the list as given 
me by Mrs. L. was quite a long one. 

At ten years of age, wo found him tall, thin, full 
of nervous excitement, peevish and irritable. His 
every whim was gratified for fear that any opposi- 



112 TOO MUCH DOCTOR, 

tion might induce brain trouble, which had been 
known to jj present in some of his ancestors years 
before. His teeth were eroded and diseased, the 
result, as Doctor Lyons told me. of his frequent in- 
digestions and attacks of sickness : and the doctor 
knew, for he too had attended this family. It was 
only for a short time, for Mrs. Lazelle. as she became 
more and more worried with her family cares, grew 
more and more exacting with every one but herself, 
so Doctors Xamen, Pearsall, Lyons. Sawyer. Bowles 
and Belcher were tried each in turn ; but still the 
children did not develop and grow as those of Mrs. 
Jones did, who rarelv had a physician in the house. 
These above-named doctors were different types of 
men. and represented at least two of the so-called 
medical systems or '' ; pathies," and yet they were not 
able to accomplish much. What Mrs. Jones be- 
lieved was. that a mother's care was wanting. " Doc- 
tors are of no use," she said, " unless the mother will 
do as they say.* 3 That the mother was inefficient 
was shown during our visit, for though it was nearly 
nine o'clock, p.m.. the little three year old Augustus, 
who should have been in bed, was wide awake, and, 
moreover, in his anxiety to get upon a chair, before 



" BUTTER SIDE DOWN." I 13 



the descending- hand of the father could reach him, 
had placed upon the sofa a piece of bread and butter, 
the butter- side being down. 

It was no unusual thing, so it seemed, to give the 
children something to eat before going to bed, though 
a hearty supper had been disposed of at seven o'clock. 
In fact Augustus, who awoke in the night, complain- 
ing of feeling " hungry," was supplied with some- 
thing. The first call in the morning and nearly the 
last at night was " something to eat," and so it had 
always been. The boy had grown to be fat, saucy, 
and given to destructiveness. In fact, he was over- 
fed, and, like the seal at the Aquarium, showed his 
gorging by a skin eruption on and about his face. 

Sophronia, who had lived with her grandmother 
in the country for a year or more, showed the effects 
of good, pure air and wholesome food, combined 
with an intelligent oversight in her more robust 
figure and better behavior than was apparent in her 
brothers and sister ; but by contact with the unruly 
members of the family, the girl was in danger of 
losing the good characteristics. Leonora, though she 
had cut her teeth at an early age, did not have many 
to boast of at seven years. A pale, sickly girl she 



114 A YOUNG TYRANT. 



was, fond of pastry and sweets, and unwilling to 
touch such "stuff" as meat and vegetables. Twice 
had the effort been made to send her to school, but 
each time she had returned home with a headache. 
The last time roused her father into looking- into the 
condition of the school, and when he found that over 
sixty children were crowded into a mere closet, it 
seemed to him, even with his easy-going nature, 
necessary to do something, so the child was kept out 
of school, and she was sickly — deficient in mind and 
muscle. It was a question with Lena and myself 
whether such a specimen of humanity could stand the 
ordinary wear and tear even of an ordinary school, 
let alone the impurities and bad results of over- 
crowding, which arise in some of our schools. Gus- 
tavus went to school whenever he felt like it. Some- 
times Augustus would be allowed to go with his 
brother, but as surely as he did there was trouble. 
He would eat his brother's lunch, or burst into cry- 
ing because he could not have what he wanted. At 
home he ruled the servants, and demanded pennies 
of them, which they gave in order to be on good 
terms with one who had such influence with Mrs. 
Lazelle. 



"ANYTHING FOR PEACE. 115 

To control such a quartet as this must be difficult, 
and so evidently did the parents believe. You will 
say, my readers, that the children were " spoilt." 
So they were ; but you will find many a spoilt child 
in many a family. 

The father and mother that evening were the pic- 
tures of distress. Between the anxiety to have the 
children behave well, and the inability to control 
tiiem, our visit was not as pleasant as it might have 
been. At half-past nine Augustus was carried off 
to bed by the up-stairs girl, screaming as he went. 
For just one-half hour had he been quiet, while 
Lena amused him by telling stories, letting him ex- 
amine her watch and play with her bead-chain. At 
the end of one hour afterward the remaining chil- 
dren were sent to bed, in the face of protests on their 
part. They had evidently discovered the arrange- 
ments made down-stairs for our entertainment, and 
insisted upon having something. Mr. Lazelle began 
by saying they must not eat at this time of night, 
and ended by giving what they wanted, in order, as 
he said, to have " peace in the house." 

As we were enjoying in the dining-room the quiet 
and fruit, far removed from the din and voracious 



l6 "I TOLD YOU SO. 



appetites which reigned up-stairs, Mr. Lazelle re- 
marked that he " was glad when the young ones had 
gone to bed, the little scamps had got to be so 
■unruly." 

" Yes, my dear," said Mrs. L., " it's just what I told 
you Avhen our second was born, if you didn't take 
hold, the children would go to destruction, and so 
they have. Any one knows that I have worked like 
a slave." 

" And didn't I furnish the money, Mrs. L., to run 
the house? And didn't I make all the changes you 
wanted ? And haven't I been for the doctor at all 
times of the night, and always paid him ? Surely, 
you musn't blame me. If any one is to blame, pitch 
into the force of circumstances." 

Evidently, to our minds, this family did not appro- 
priate all the happiness, order and harmony which 
was in their reach, and we were not sorry to take 
our leave. We had learned enough to know that 
Mr. and Mrs. Lazelle did not pull well together in 
the traces ; that Mr. L, had given way to his wife in 
many things, and had failed to help her in others ; 
that she had, little by little, developed her fancies 
and oddities by practice ; that the various changes 



MRS. JONES' u SEVEN." 117 

had been made, and attemps at reform, which only 
rendered the children more and more uneasy. 

We believed that had these children belonged to 
some decided sensible people, they would have been 
different. 

We felt reasonably assured, from a satisfaction in 
our own abilities, that we never should strike on the 
same rocks and be stranded ; and so the note-book 
registered that night determinations — first, to pull to- 
gether, and, secondly, to have our boy learn to mind. 

On the following Wednesday evening we called at 
Mrs. Jones'. 

Our insight into the workings of the Jones family 
"at home," was productive of good to us. Here 
were seven children, the oldest twelve years of age, 
the youngest one year. My impression before our 
visit had been that the Jones children must be per- 
fect. They were undoubtedly the best children I 
had seen, but they had appetites and wills of their 
own which occasionlly asserted themselves in op- 
position to the parents' desires, though a gentle re- 
primand seldom failed to be understood. Not that 
Mr. and Mrs. Jones were harsh or severe, far from 
it ; but they had learned how far the children might 



Il8 HER EXPERIENCE. 



be safely allowed to assert themselves I say learned 
for Mrs. Jones assured my wife " that it was very 
hard work to raise children properly.'' 

" Before my marriage/' she continued, " it was a 
favorite idea of mine that I could raise a family as it 
should be raised, and that there was no necessity for 
me to stumble into the same pits that other people 
had, but when Tom was born he was such a crier 
that I was almost unstrung. His father then could 
not well afford to hire a nurse for me, and we never 
thought we ought to go to that expense since, so, 
with the first and the last baby mother has been with 
me, and only for a short time on each occasion, lor 
she has a large family of her own and cannot easily 
leave her home, so you see I have been compelled to 
fight it out alone. No, I ought not to say alone, for 
my dear husband has helped me in every way he 
could, but then he had to work so very hard to keep 
us clothed and fed, that when he comes home at night 
I do not feel like bothering him with complaints, and 
there is no use denying that I have felt almost dis- 
couraged at times. 

" Tom would go out with a new clean suit on, and 
in a little while in he would come dirty, and with a 



'GETTING SQUARE." 119 



large hole in his pants, perhaps. Susie, who ordin- 
arily is as gentle as a dove, gets very much ruffled 
occasionally, and especially when at school some 
girl tells her that her father is poor. Then there is 
Joe, who never has seemed to be afraid of anything 
or anybody. Nothing seems to give him as much 
satisfaction as ' getting square,' as he calls it, with 
some boy, either by going ahead of him in school, 
or by beating him at a game of marbles, or in wrest- 
ling, and this makes havoc with the clothes. He has 
fought once or twice, and I have been at a loss how 
to guide him in the right. I don't want him to be a 
coward or a bully. Fred hasn't gone to school yet, 
and is of service to me at home doing chores. He 
is a patient, lovable little fellow, but I am afraid he 
has not quite energy enough to push him on in the 
world. It will give him many hard knocks, and he 
may not be well prepared to meet them, for he is a 
timid boy, and not as strong as the others. Jessie 
seems to be a strong baby, and I hope will grow up 
to be a comfort. 

" You think I ought not to worry, Mrs. Matthews! 
I don't worry a great deal. It is the little things I 
have been telling you of that set me to thinking, for 



120 RESULT OF OVER STUDY. 

I must say that the children have no great faults. 
Ever since 1 have had children I have had to study 
and plan for them ; and so it will be, I suppose, 
until they become men and women. If I relaxed 
my watchfulness, some mishap has been sure to hap- 
pen. Susie learns easily and is very bright ; so, of 
course, her teacher as well as her parents are proud 
of her. A year ago she was very anxious to pass ex- 
amination for a higher class I knew that she had a 
good many studies — more than I could master in 
twenty -four hours, or her teacher either, (for she told 
me that she had made the experiment, and failed); 
but I let her go on, against my judgment. She suc- 
ceeded, as she has been taught to endeavor to do, by 
persevering effort ; but the result was, that for a 
month or so afterward, she was so prostrated that we 
were compelled to send her away from the noise of 
the city, at a considerable expense to us. When they 
were babies I am sure, as I look back now, that we 
made many mistakes. I feel certain, too, that many 
times they might have been saved from pain, discom- 
fort and unhappiness if we had been watchful. 

" As I have already said, before marriage I believed 
that children could be brought up by a certain fixed 



THE "HERALD OF HEALTH." 121 

rule, but experience has taught me the importance of 
adapting myself to the necessities of the child. My 
children differ in dispositions, appetites and longings, 
and I cannot follow out exactly the same course with 
all of them. 

" This Herald of Health, so highly indorsed by Mr. 
Barnaby and others, does not seem to me to be ex- 
actly what we want. Mr. B. is already shaping his 
ideas according to its teaching, and we may have 
trouble when the nursery is established, for I am con- 
fident that Mrs. Percy and Mrs. Bond, (who came so 
near losing her baby by sticking to one idea,) are ready 
to oppose it and all that it teaches." 

I could sympathize with Mrs. Jones' views, for I 
was captured at first by the ably written editorials, 
the striking physiological illustrations, the neat bind- 
ing and good print. 

After more careful perusals, and several inquiries, 
it was evident that the editor had some pecuniary in- 
terest in the sale of Dick's Celebrated Graham Crack- 
ers, Thompson's Desiccated Milk, Wheeler's Health 
Rejuvenator — in Tom, Dick and Harry's stores, 
in short. The whole arrangement was very much 
like that of the cook-book which gave some admir- 



T22 " HOW NOT TO BE POOR." 

able recipes for the preparation of coffee, but ended 
each one with the advice to use " Smith's Patent 
Coffee Urn, as it was the only urn or pot that would 
be of service." 

Then this health journal was not truthful, so Doc- 
tor Lyons said. u It's plates were borrowed, and the 
pictures were as exaggerated as the description of 
them.'' In the third place, it was forever .telling of 
the advantages of exercise before breakfast, of the 
great nutritiousness of the cereals, as contrasted with 
meat, of how to live on almost nothing a day, of how 
not to be poor. 

All this would have been well, had any of the 
suggestions proved practical enough to carry out. 
According to Mrs. Jones' statement, she would not 
change her experience for any one's pet theories. 
She had attempted to use flannel with all her chil- 
dren, but was compelled to remove it from two of 
them, as it produced an irritating eruption. She had 
acted on some one's advice, and kept one baby al- 
most smothered in clothes, for fear of catching cold. 
It broke into a profuse perspiration, and soon be- 
came weak, and upon its body an eruption appeared. 
With another, she had first gone to the other ex- 



VACCINATION. 1 23 



treme, and put on too little clothing, and the baby 
was down sick with Summer trouble. 

" Many of the afflictions which fall to the lot of 
children are," she continued, " due, I believe, to the 
want of a mother's care. To look back now, and 
see what I have left undone, makes me despondent 
sometimes, but I have tried to profit by my mis- 
takes. 

" When Tom and Susie were vaccinated, they did 
not suffer much, and soon got over the effects ; but 
poor little Fred had a dreadful arm, all swollen up 
to his shoulder, and almost down to his hand. I 
know very well that the doctor told me that the 
matter was perfectly good and pure, and that this 
turn in affairs was due to the feeble condition of the 
little fellow, after his attack from cholera infantum, 
but then a good many of the neighbors came in, and 
a large number insisted upon it that it was all owing 
to bad matter, and I began to think so ; but I have 
now found how unjust I was in my suspicions. 

" When Joe was three years old, it so happened 
that I was not very well, and for a time, to keep the 
house quiet, I let him play out on the sidewalk with 
other children in the block. One day it was quite 



124 A PROFITABLE CALL. 

hot, much warmer out of doors than I had supposed. 
Joe had eaten a larger dinner than usual, and after 
he had played out of doors for a little while, he came 
into the house complaining of headache. He was 
out of sorts for some time afterward, and we believe 
he must have had a ' touch of the sun.' 

" Mrs. Phillips lost her little girl, you know, from 
congestion of the brain brought on by a sunstroke. 
Ever since, during the very hot weather, I have 
clothed the children, baby and all, in loose, thin 
clothing, and have given them light food, free from 
much fat, and I find it pays, if I am careful not to let 
them catch cold by exposure to sudden changes of 
temperature ; but I am afraid, Mrs. Matthews, that I 
have detained you, and probably wearied you with 
my family matters, but you must excuse me — for I 
scarcely know when to stop, if once I get started." 

Her recital had not been wearisome to us. On 
the contrary, new light was let in upon cherished 
ideas, and as we wended our way toward our own 
little home, it was understood between us that we 
had seen a couple who were doing the best they 
knew how, that they were endeavoring to reach per- 
fection. Jones was an overworked man, and his 



MRS. PERCY S BOYS. 125 

wife was weighed down with the care of a large 
family and all the worries said to belong to it. Yet 
thev were in the main cheerful and hopeful, and 
evidently believed that the only way in which per- 
fection could be reached was by judgment and work. 

Mrs. Percy's family was yet to be inspected, 
though living only next door ; for as often as we 
had received calls from Mrs. Percy, we had seen 
but very little of Mr. Percy or the boys. Three 
strong, robust, strapping fellows they turned out to 
be — full of rough, boyish ways, but, after all, little 
gentlemen. It seems that, from birth almost, they 
were accustomed to the free use of water, at first 
tepid, then cool, and finally, as they reached the age 
of four years, cold water was well borne. While she 
believed in water, she also thought that there was 
such a thing as too much bathing ; so her plan was 
the following : 

Before they were one year old, sponging in tepid 
or cool water once every day (in Summer) or every 
other day in cool weather. After one year, a good 
bath in a large tub once a week — first washing the 
entire body with tepid water, and using good pure 
soap, if necessary, to remove dirt ; then sponging off 



126 HER METHOD. 



with cold water ; and, finally, the bodies were rubbed 
perfectly dry with a firm, large towel. During the 
week " sponge-baths " were resorted to. For these 
she made bag-like mittens, first for her own use with 
the boys, and afterward they used them. These mit- 
tens were dipped into tepid water, and well lathered, 
if necessary, with soap, then passed rapidly over the 
body, then rinsed out in cold water and used upon 
the body ; after which strong rubbing was resorted 
to. " The "sponge-bath," she contended, "should 
only take up a few moments oi time; and it is a 
grand thing for the boys ; they learn to do things 
quickly and well. There isn't one of them but what 
I could send on an errand almost anywhere, and 
trust with anything, too. They have been brought 
up to mind, but they have had plenty to eat and 
to wear, and they can afford to. Supposing I had 
let them eat candies and cakes — like lots of people 
do— do you suppose, Mr. Matthews, that they would 
have the teeth they have now, or would they feel 
like taking a hold of books or work ? Not a bit of 
it. Why, they have scarcely had a sick day in their 
lives. I nursed every one of them till their teeth 
came, and then they began to have oatmeal, milk, 



"LIKE PARENTS, LIKE CHILDREN. 12/ 

the juice of beef, bread-and-butter, during the day- 
time, while I nursed at night if I thought they needed 
anything; but they didn't want it very long, and 
now see what they are. 

" Mr. Percy is a great hand to have children go to 
bed early, and never would have any light in the room 
alter they were in bed ; and many's the evening that 
he used to play hide-and-seek in the dark with the lit- 
tle ones, so that they would learn not to be afraid. 
You would never tnmk to look at him now, that he 
used to romp with the young ones, but he did, and 
they are the better for it. Thank the Lord, the whole 
of us are well and hearty." 

They were a robust family — " like parents, like 
children." As lively as Salter appeared in public, I 
knew that at heart he was worried. His mirthfulness 
was like an outer garment, which he always had 
ready to hide his inner feelings. 

His wife was a gentle, affectionate person, with an 
inherited tendency to consumption. She was a beau- 
tiful woman, too, and a favorite in society ; but her 
physical strength was so much below par that poor 
Salter was under an almost constant expense for the 
luxuries which seemed to her, at least, to be necessi- 



128 u Salter's little girl." 

ties. Then my friend's health was none of the best. 
While at college during the boat-racing fever he had 
overtrained for the work, and had never been able 
since to do hard work or to bear fatigue. 

They had three children born to them, but two 
were dead at the time of our visit. The first had 
died of what the doctors call " inanition," or exhaus- 
tion from want of nourishment. It had seemed im- 
possible to get any food to agree. The second devel- 
oped " water on the brain," and died. Ethel, the 
only child left to them, was a delicate, pretty, light- 
haired and blue-eyed little damsel of five years, active 
and of quick perception ; but her father dreaded the 
onset of any attack of sickness, for he well knew that 
she had but a slight hold on life ; yet he was not 
idle, but endeavored to build her up. For endurance 
in all athletic sports he appreciated the importance 
of free inspiration and expiration of air by the lungs, 
and he watched with anxiety the feeble respiratory 
powers of his little girl. For a year he had spent 
some of the time each day in lung-gymnastics for her 
benefit, and with good results. 

" Yes, Bob, it's doing her good. Why, if she goes 
on increasing the power of her lungs, what will be- 



" SALTER'S ONE GREAT OBJECT." 129 

come of the poor parents when her voice is strong, 
and there is a bellows' power behind it, like the one 
developing there ? It doesn't do, does it, Ethie, to let 
the women have too much to say f* 

This he said as he bent down to kiss her, and, while 
he did so, a tear or two started into his eyes, which 
he hastily brushed away. 

There could be no doubt of his love and tenderness 
as well as anxiety. To engraft healthy life upon a 
weakened foundation, to preserve respect and love, 
to bring up an only child properly, seemed to be his 
one great object in life. 

" After all, Matthews." he used to say, ki it's very 
much like caring for a tree. You plant it in good 
soil, water it, and give mineral substances for food. 
It is exposed to the air and sun, and with sheers, 
rope and priming-knife we train it in the way it should 
go, so that when old it will not depart from it." 

Lena and I had intended to visit Miss Oley the same 
evening that we called upon the Salters, but were 
compelled to defer our visit to another time. 



Chapter X 



THE NURSERY. 



J7 was now well along into Summer. The days 
were inclined toward sultriness, and the nights 
were often unfavorable for a sound sleep. Flies had 
begun to be persistently attentive, would buzz and 
tickle at very inopportune times, while the mos- 
quitoes came upon us eager and thirsty. The ther- 
mometer registered 75 Fahr. and over. Clothing 
was uncomfortable, bathing a luxury. Store-rooms, 
closets and cellar were close and musty, unless 
thoroughly aired. The appetite began to- flag and 
the body to grow weary. Ice melted away rapidly, 
and if by any means, we were not able to keep up 
a supply, the milk soured, putrefaction and decay 
set in. 

Just as Lena and I were ready to call one even- 
ing on Miss Oley, baby was taken suddenly sick. 
The day had been warm, but the boy had been kept 
cool with spongings and thin clothing. He had 



MRS. JONES TO THE FRONT. 131 



nursed well and seemed bright. At six o'clock Mrs. 
Leonard was compelled to leave. At seven p.m. 
he was fed upon cow's milk which seemed sweet 
and good, but soon after, he threw it up, and his 
hands and face grew almost cold. His color van- 
ished, and to those of us who stood by, it seemed 
as if he must die. It must be told here that our 
mothers-in-law were as frightened as the rest oi us, 
notwithstanding they had raised families of children, 
and in this emergency were not found equal to the 
art of keeping cool. The servant had alarmed the 
neighbors and soon they began to pour in. Mrs. 
Lazelle " couldn't stand the sight," sat down and 
wept, then wrung her hands, " because " she wasn't 
able to do anything for us. Mrs. Percy suggested 
" brandy," but Mrs. Jones was the only one who 
took it upon herself to give it — a very, very few 
drops in water every ten or fifteen minutes. This, 
with gently rubbing the body with a warm towel, 
brought the poor little fellow back again to us, and, 
under Mrs. Jones' directions, he gradually recovered. 
"I well remember," she said, "the same experience 
I had once with one of my little ones — and from 
study and thought I am confident that, in both in- 



132 MY MOTHER-IN-LAW'S ADVICE. 

stances, you will find the cause in the hot weather 
and some change in the milk that we can't perceive, 
perhaps. I have, for a long- time, kept a bottle of 
test-paper in my house, so that I could have a piece 
to dip into the milk-can before I gave any milk to 
the children, and I have found that, sometimes when 
milk tastes sweet and smells sweet, yet the blue test- 
paper would be reddened, showing that there was 
some acid in the milk, and this might make it upset 
the baby's stomach. Then, they say that a good 
deal of the cow's milk that is said to come from the 
country never has been there, that some of it comes 
from sick cows — cows, just think of it, dying of con- 
sumption — and that if the milkman is not careful to 
clean his cans well, a piece of curdy milk the size of 
a pea will taint a whole can, and my husband says 
that he has seen the milkman nearly fill a can with 
water, pour in a little milk on top, and sell the milk 
and water for pure milk. What is going to become 
of all the children if things go on in this way ?" 

" Why, do as I have always advised my son-in-law, 
Mr. Matthews, to do — buy a cow," answered Mrs. 
Vincent. " When I came here, I knew what was 
wanted, for haven't I been reading the papers for 



" AN HONEST MILK-DEALER." 133. 

the last ten years, and don't they tell all about the 
wicked doings in this big city ?" 

This was my mother-in-law's last shot, and it 
stung me. So sensitive was I, that I did look about 
for a cow, but I soon found that it was only the 
favored few who could afford to keep cows in the 
cities as they should be kept. To be sure, a cow — 
such as it was — could be bought, a lot with a few 
blades of grass in it could be hired for pasturage, a 
little tow-headed boy around the corner could be 
hired to drive it — or run it, as such boys do usually — 
to and from pasture (?). Mr. Jenks' stable could be 
hired, or, rather, one stall in it could, for it held 
already four horses, three dogs — one for use, one for 
show, and one to bet on in a rat-fight. Then there 
were two goats kept for Mr. Slocum's baby. So I 
did not buy a cow, but searched the city over till I 
found an honest milk-dealer, who kept cows a few 
miles from the city, and brought his milk undiluted 
to our door. 

The baby fattened on it, and the parents indulged 
themselves in its use. Now that we had found milk 
which really tasted like country milk, Mrs. Vincent 
felt that her responsibility had about ended, and so 



134 MR S- VINCENT GOES HOME. 

went to her home ; but the mails brought from time 
to time the advice " not to starve the child," to keep 
it out of the sun, not to let everybody handle it, be- 
cause she had just picked up the paper and saw in it 
that small-pox was " raging in New York city * 5 

The good old lady ! how over-anxious and over- 
sensitive she was, and yet how kind at heart, though 
she could not seem to understand that the " young 
people " must learn " how to run the house and care 
for the children," as other people have had to before 
them. 

Miss Oley was a great favorite of hers, and we 
could scarcely understand why, until we finally 
called upon her. Then we learned how enthusiastic 
she was, what common sense she mingled with her 
enthusiasm, how she never tired of working for a 
good cause, with what zeal she endeavored to carry 
out any plan that would elevate her fellow-beings. 
Having lived in the country for a number of years, 
she appreciated the advantages of pure air and sur- 
roundings, and endeavored in every possible way to 
put them within the reach of the poor among the 
tenements, and in the low-lying parts of the city 
known to the health authorities as the pigsty dis* 



miss oley's good works. 135 

tricts. She had been instrumental in starting the 
Diet Dispensary, which already, in its two months' 
existence, had relieved so many. 

The weather had been warm and babies were 
sick, and many had died, but this dispensary seemed 
to be preventing- disease, by furnishing to the poor, 
on physcians' orders, excellent milk, oatmeal, beef-tea 
and other articles. 

At the time of our visit, Miss Oley was particularly 
interested in furnishing fresh air to the poor by plan- 
ning for excursions on river and bay, by the establish- 
ment of " country week homes,'' as already found in 
operation at Copenhagen, and near Boston, and by 
the erection of sea-side homes on the sandy shores of 
the ocean. Her enthusiasm was so contagious that 
it did not seem to us a difficult matter for her to in- 
terest any number of people in any new project. 

" Now do, Mr. Matthews, become a subscriber to 
our fund for the establishment of the new nursery. 
Your wife has already promised to become an active 
member, and you know you must do as much good 
work as she does, and so many of the gentlemen have 
put their names down. If you don't feel like giving 
to the nursery, why not take an interest in these Sum- 



136 WHICH DOCTOR. 



mer picnics we are trying to get up, for the benefit 
of the poor little children ? When our nursery is 
opened, I want to see some arrangement then to take 
the children out for rides or fresh air, for I don't be- 
lieve that they get enough of either. Of course, it 
would be better if we could raise money enough to buy 
a place in the country, and send the children off for the 
Summer, so we could clean and paint, as well as air 
everything ; but here I am talking away, and only a 
building has been hired, and there are no children in 
it, and no board of managers elected. A physician 
isn't appointed even, though there is a good deal of 
talk about who is to have charge. Now, Lena, would 
you, if you were me, vote for Doctor Lyons ? He is 
younger than the other doctors, you know, and has 
the reputation of having j hobbies,' of talking too 
much, and of being too particular. Doctor Namen 
would bring dignity and respectability to the institu- 
tion ; Doctor Pearsall, influence and money — besides 
he is popular ; Doctor Sawyer is too gruff — I can't 
bear him ; Doctor Bowles is a clear out-and-out 
homeopathist ; while Doctor Belcher calls himself 
1 liberal,' and has a good many friends. Of course, 
what we want is some one who will take a live inter- 



OUR CHOICE. 137 



est in the children, and try to have as little sickness as 
possible.'' 

" Well, Jennie, if that is the kind of a person you 
need, I believe Doctor Lyons would be just the man; 
of course, I don't know anything about him, except 
what I've seen with my little boy, but he has been 
real kind and attentive to me and the baby, and Bob 
thinks everything of him, and why shouldn't I like 
him ? I really don't know anything about { pathy,' or 
the school of medicine he follows, and I don't care, as 
long as he gets along well with us, and we like him. 
As far as I can learn, the best doctors don't have any 
' pathy ' at all. I believe I should be afraid to have a 
doctor who claimed to always be able to cure every- 
thing and everybody, and certainly I would if he was 
talking against other doctors." 

" That is all true enough, Lena ; but would you 
have an unmarried man, who has never had any chil- 
dren of his own to look out for, put in charge of lots 
of babies ?" 

" The reason he isn't married, Jennie, is probably 
because he has never seen exactly the woman he 
would like to marry," slyly interposed my wife. 

41 Yes, I understand,'' answered Miss Oley, evi- 



138 MISS oley's ideal physician. 

dently touched ; " but Doctor Xamen would be just 
the person, if he wasn't so dignified, and could only 
keep himself up to the times. He doesn't really care 
to practice any more, and I suppose we will have to 
appoint some younger man ; but who it is to be I 
don't, know." 

It seemed curious to me that Miss Oley should ob- 
ject to Doctor Lyons on the ground of his being par- 
ticular, for certainly she was in many respects like 
him. He was not quite as sanguine as she was, 
probably, because his business had taught him not 
to be : but he had the same general object in view, 
viz.. to do all that could be done for the poor and 
afflicted. She had her way of doing the work and he 
had his. 

In the various charitable enterprises afloat he also 
had an interest, and. in his quiet way, did much good. 
This she must have known ; but her " ideal physician 
was a man of silvery hair, with a gentle, comforting 
manner, whose words were the essence of wisdom, 
whose life had been, and is, devoted to study, practice 
and research. He must be a married man, and de- 
voted to his profession." 

Alas ! no such a man was forthcoming, and this was 



A LIVELY MEETING. I39 

not the first time that Miss Oley had been mistaken 
and disappointed. Two proteges, taken up amid 
misery and want, were cared for by her, clothed, fed, 
sent to school, and then the boy was taught a trade, 
and the girl was retained as a companion and seam- 
stress ; but the boy ran away to sea, and the girl fell 
in love with a miserable, lazy fellow, and married him ; 
yet our friend was sanguine that everything would 
yet turn out well. 

She was disappointed when she was satisfied that 
her ideal doctor could not be found, and how to ob- 
tain some one who could fairly represent this ideal 
was the question. 

Two weeks from the time of our visit the ladies and 
gentlemen interested had a meeting, and elected a 
board of twenty lady managers, and five gentlemen 
directors, to take charge of the nursery. Then 
followed a meeting of the Board of Managers, and 
Quite a " lively '' one it was, to use Lena's expres- 
sion, for she had been made a manager, and was 
present. 

The appointment of a matron was first in order. 
Six women were highly recommended by several of 
the ladies, but a choice finally fell upon a Mrs. Mor- 



140 DONATIONS — WISE AND OTHERWISE. 

rell, for whom it was claimed that she had had a 
large experience in the care of babies, and had 
raised a family of her own. A Mrs. Conant was in- 
stalled as assistant matron, while, after much de- 
bate, Doctor Belcher, the " liberal," and Pearsall 
were chosen as physicians. Doctor Lyons received 
but seven votes, Miss Oley voting against him on 
the ground that he was an unmarried man and too 
particular. Soon the institution got into running 
order ; the rooms were filled with babies. Dona- 
tions of all sorts of things began to pour in, many of 
them of no earthly use to any of the inmates. Old, 
worn-out clothing, broken toys, dilapidated furni- 
ture, canned fruits and vegetables, that had proba- 
bly incumbered the shelves of the worthy trades- 
people for months past — were actually offered, ac- 
cepted for fear of giving offense, and acknowledged 
in the daily papers. There were reliable gifts of 
money, warm clothing, soap, sweet-oil, vaseline 
(which had proved itself to be useful to us with our 
baby), oatmeal, flour, wheat, Indian-meal, sugar, 
rice, etc., etc., besides nursery-lamps, water-coolers, 
hair-mattresses for Winter and wire-woven ones for 
Summer use, bedclothes, rolls of cotton, woolen and 



RUMORS. 141 



linen-cloth, good, stiff teiir-brushes, etc. The two 
baby-carriages donated were so much out of repair 
that it cost as much to put them in order as would 
reasonably be expended in the purchase of new 
vehicles, but the ladies did not care to grumble, for 
they were relying for aid upon a " generous public." 

It was thought best, after all, not to have any es- 
pecial opening exercises, so the address of the Rev. 
Doctor Barnaby was postponed for the annual 
meeting. 

Lena was not able to attend any of the meetings, 
or to visit the institution for several months. Rumors 
reached us during this period of neglect upon the 
part of the matron. It was even said that she acted 
at times as if her brain was affected. Miss Oley 
spoke highly of the kindness and efficiency of Mrs. 
Conant, and hoped that Mrs. Morrell's health would 
improve soon ; " she was so nervous, and spoke so 
sharply to the children." About the doctors she 
said but little. It was evident to Lena and myself 
that things were not going on smoothly. 

If Doctor Lyons' name was mentioned by us, Miss 
Oley either passed on to other subjects of conversa- 
tion, or spoke of him rather contemptuously, we 



142 

thought. But the doctor quietly went on with the 
work he was engaged in, and whenever he met Miss 
Oley at our house, or elsewhere, was still polite and 
gentlemanly. He was also interested in the Nursery, 
but was very careful as to what he said about the 
management of it. He was evidently interested in 
Miss Oley, but to get into her good graces was a 
difficult matter. When I had occasion to go one 
evening to the Nursery on an errand, who should I 
find was the matron but our first acquaintance, Mrs. 
Flynn. She had married Mr. Morrell, received a 
better name, a little money, and could dress better. 
Mrs. Conant proved to be the widow I saw once in 
Doctor Lyons' office, and an interesting, fine-looking 
woman she was. With the discovery of Mrs. Flynn 
it was also evident that Doctor Lyons had an enemy 
in the institution, and it was probable that Miss 
Oley's opinion of him had been somewhat colored 
by her stories. 

Certainly Doctor Lyons did have an enemy in 
Mrs. Morrell, and a wily one she was ; but how came 
she there in such an institution, and in charge of it, 
too? Why, in this way. Mrs. Billings' coachman 
was second cousin to Jim Morrell, who kept a corner 



MRS, FLYNN'S TACTICS. I43 

grocery, with a " nate little bar" in the rear of it. 
Mrs. Flynn, who was always on the lookout for 
something or somebody to better herself with, put 
this and that together — viz., there was to be a new 
nursery started, and a matron appointed with a sala- 
ry, but the woman must come well recommended ; 
then there was Mr. Morrell, the widower, with some 
money, and he was a big man in politics, besides. 
Now, if she could marry him and prink up a little, 
who knew what luck might befall her ? 

It seemed that Billings, who held a fat-salaried 
political office, owed his appointment in the main to 
this Jim Morrell, whom he seldom cared to call upon 
in the daytime, for fear of being seen entering a store 
which had begun to have a bad name ; but so strong 
was Jim's political grip, that Billings endeavored to 
serve him in every possible way. 

Mrs. Flynn enticed the groceryman into marriage, 
and, as- mistress of the house, became proficient in 
"pulling the wires." Billings had promised Morrell 
that he would do what he could for his wife, but 
never dreamed at the time that she would want to 
be matron of the nursery, in which the ladies and 
gentlemen were beginning to be interested. Morrell 



144 "POLITICAL THUMB SCREWS." 

died from tippling, leaving but little money to his 
widow and her children. The money she put into 
her pocket, and the children into the Half-Orphan 
Asylum, and with her late husband's cousin, be- 
sieged Mr. Billings for a position. 

It was some time before Mrs. Billings would agree 
to favor Mrs. Morrell's application for matron, but 
the political thumb-screws bore heavily upon Bil- 
lings, and he and his wife succumbed, so that at the 
first meeting of the Board of Managers Mrs. Billings 
proposed the name of Mrs. Morrell, on the ground 
that she had raised a large family. 

Nothing was said as to the " orphans' " where- 
abouts, and few cared to inquire into particulars 
about the woman as long as Mrs. Billings, the worthy 
president, had suggested the name. The waitress at 
the Billings' table had informed the coachman as to 
the conversations upon the choice of physicians, and 
the coachman had taken extra pains to let Mrs. Mor- 
rell know all about them ; so the woman started out 
to defeat any plan for the installment of Doctor 
Lyons, and had succeeded in drawing away ad- 
herents. 

This was accomplished, not by any open attack, 



MISS OLEY S SYMPATHY. 145 

but by shakes of the head, little miserable " sugges- 
tions," insinuations as to character, and accounts of 
unsuccessful cases. They did the work. People 
who had been believed to be friends of Doctor Lyons 
hesitated, thought they would make inquiries as to 
the doctor, postponed them from day to day, and 
when the meeting was called, remembered that 
they had not inquired, but rather than have any 
physician in charge of the institution against whom 
there was the least suspicion, they voted against 
him. 

And just this mode of proceeding may be, and is 
exemplified almost every day. Miss Oley, who had 
already determined not to have an unmarried man 
as physician, was rather glad of the " opposition " 
as an excuse for her vote, though mingled with her 
joy at success was a sympathy for Doctor Lyons, for 
she could not believe the rumors afloat about him. 
She well knew that her sympathy must not be ex- 
pressed, for when once openly bestowed, it was 
difficult to keep it in due bounds, so she was very 
circumspect. 

The nursery meanwhile lived on. A few of the 
managers had learned the antecedents of the matron, 



I46 " AN UNEXPECTED VISIT." 

and were in favor of her removal, but whenever any 
lady called at the building and questioned the nurses 
as to the condition of things, everything was said to 
be " as good as could be." On visiting-days, or 
when any visitor was expected, the children looked 
clean, the floors had a polish, all articles offensive to 
the eye and nose were put into closets, and the keys 
of these closets into the matron's pocket. If a lady 
manager wanted to look into a closet, the key was 
" mislaid" (?), and rather than put the matron to the 
trouble to look for it, the manager went on her way 
without seeing the inside of anything. 

The matron chuckled to herself at her sharpness, 
and gave the colicky babies an extra dose of gin to 
quiet them. Now, these babies were many in num- 
ber, for the larger proportion were bottle-led. 

An unexpected visit by Miss Oley and my wife 
revealed dirt, bad odors, disorder and want of care, 
and yet it was the same institution so highly spoken 
of by visitors of the previous day, for the unexpected 
visit had been made in the evening. Bottles of milk 
were sour to test-paper and taste even, with mouth- 
pieces sour-smelling and not thoroughly cleansed. 
Pans of food for the children stood upon the window- 



A MODEL NURSERY. 147 

sills or chairs of the bedroom, to remain there till 
morning. Closets were crammed with dirty clothes, 
wearing apparel, soiled garments, and odds and ends. 
Windows were closed, or the ventilators stuffed with 
shawls or skirts. The air was close, sickening, stifling. 
The odors, perceptible on entering the building, grew 
more and more disgusting as the visitors ascended 
the stairs. And this was the institution of which the 
ladies were so proud. 

No wonder the babies sickened and died. Strange 
to say they could not or would not live on the little 
attentions, so gently bestowed by the kind-hearted 
ladies. Ah, thought I, an institution needs the same 
care as a private family does, only more thorough 
and constant, for every breath, every soiled piece of 
clothing, every particle of dirt, every bad odor, every 
atom of fermenting or putrefying material, every 
neglect, poisons the blood, influences the mind, or 
dwarfs bodily vigor. The matron persistently af- 
firmed that she had not smelt or seen anything out of 
the way with the place, and so she was retained, 
for few of the ladies cared to call at other than 
regular times, when Mrs. Morrell was sure to be pre- 
pared for them. 



148 A STORMY NIGHT. 

The doctors proved to be good-natured, agreeable 
gentlemen, who called regularly at certain hours — 
gave the matron verbal directions to follow out — 
spent a short time in passing through the building — 
or, if hurried by outside business, received reports 
of the condition of affairs from the matron. They 
saw nothing amiss with the matron, and in monthly 
reports to the board, mentioned her valuable ser- 
vices. 

Mrs. Conant, who, we ascertained had accom- 
plished about all the good that was done, received 
not even a passing notice, but her time was to come. 

One cold Winter evening, when the elements 
seemed at war with each other — when wind and 
storm, by their fury, rid the streets of human beings, 
save here and there, throughout the large city, mis- 
erable, houseless tramps, both women and men, who 
crouched in areas, or huddled in niches and crevices, 
between and about houses and warehouses — upon 
such a night, Miss Oley called upon us, absorbed in 
a new undertaking, and utterly regardless of the cold 
and sleet Mrs. Scott, the poor shoemaker's wife, 
had suddenly died, leaving a delicate little baby, just 
one month old, behind her. There was no one in 



THE SCOTT BABY. 1 49 

Scott's family who could care for it, and he could not 
afford to hire any one, Doctor Lyons, who was a 
friend of the shoemaker, became very much inter- 
ested in the baby. Miss Oley had assisted Scott from 
time to time with work and food. Mrs. Conant, at 
the nursery, knew him well, and was anxious to have 
the baby raised, for Scott's sake, and for the dead 
mother's, who had been a friend to her, when she oc- 
cupied rooms next door to the shoemaker's shop. 
Under the circumstances, Doctor Lyons believed the 
best thing- to do, was to place the baby under Mrs. 
Conant's care, providing she alone would be able to 
see to it, for, as he said, " he well appreciated the dif- 
ficulties institutions had in procuring wet-nurses, and 
so could not expect this baby to be wet-nursed, but 
he also knew that to admit a baby into the bottle- 
fed wards of an institution was almost certain 
death," 

If Mrs. Conant could care for it, he felt sure that 
the baby would have every possible chance for life 
and her sad experience with her own family had been 
of great service to her. Everything depended upon 
having the Scott baby put under Mrs. Conant's 
care as soon as possible ; but, alas ! there was more 



l$0 RED TAPE. 



red-tape about the admission of children than there 
should be, and Miss Oley appealed to Lena to help 
unravel it. 

So the greater part of the next day was spent in 
going from the President to the Executive Commit- 
tee, then to the Committee on Admissions, to the 
Committee on Foundlings, to the one on Free Ad- 
missions, to the Matron, back to the President, and 
so on. 

Finally, an order was procured, and the Scott baby 
was placed under Mrs. Conant's care, but not with- 
out considerable grumbling from Mrs. Morrell, who 
couldn't see why this " miserable little baby shouldn't 
take his turn with the rest. It would die anyhow, in 
the Nursery or out of it, and it was a wonder that 
Doctor Lyons, if he had anything to do with it, hadn't 
let it die before this." 

Six months had now elapsed since the Nursery 
was begun, and, out of the forty children cared for, 
ten had died, or one out of four. No wonder, then, 
that all of us who were interested in baby Scott 
watched with great anxiety for the results of what 
had been done. 

Miss Oley was determined that this baby should 



THE FIRST ANNIVERSARY. 151 

live, if love and tender care could be of avail, for she 
was anxious for the welfare of the institution, and did 
not believe, as many of the ladies did, that the deaths 
could not be prevented, and that when the little ones 
dwindled away, one by one, that " we must recognize 
the hand of Providence in our afflictions, and be thank- 
ful for the mercies extended to us.'' 

Doctor Lyons called once at the Nursery as a visi- 
tor, but did not wish to again, as the children were 
under the care of professional brethren, and his visits 
however friendly, might be misinterpreted ; but often 
he was at ©ur house, and there he met Miss Oley ; 
and a sale topic of conversation — so it was understood, 
at least — was the Scott baby and its welfare. 

However reserved Miss Oley might be while en- 
gaged upon other subjects (for she had become sus- 
picious and shy of our intentions and of Doctor 
Lyons) this one she was free to discuss. The doctor, 
too, was glad of a common ground on which they 
could meet, and quietly espoused the cause of the 
motherless babe. 

The first anniversary day of the Nursery was fast 
approaching. Arrangements were made for a grand 
display. Circulars were issued, the newspaper edi- 



152 MISPLACED ZEAL. 



tors were seen, the building was thoroughly cleaned 
under the supervision of a committee of ladies. 

How they worked for the "dear little children !" 
How love, energy and interest combined to renovate 
and revive when the day came ! All the children 
had new dresses, aprons and shoes. All the nurses, 
clean white caps and aprons. Everything looked 
fresh and clean. The ladies were happy, the nurses 
excited. Some of the children were noisy and well, 
but many, alas, still wore their pinched, sallow and 
sunken features, along with the new dresses and 
aprons, while some of the most dejected were placed 
in a room at the top of the building, where Mrs. 
Morrell hoped that few of the expected visitors 
would care to go. The matron herself looked quite 
the lady in her clean new dress and apron ; and with 
her widow's cap on, no one could more cordially 
greet the visitors than she did. The ladies were 
charmed with her actions and words — except Lena, 
Miss Oley, Mrs. Percy and Mrs. Bond, for they 
knew well, by this time, what manner of woman she 
was. Their interest in the Scott baby had shown 
them how suspicious, how overbearing, how self- 
opinionated — how ignorant she was. The baby had 



MRS. CONANTS CHARGE. 153 

thrived under good air good care, cleanliness — well- 
prepared, fresh and nutritious food, given at proper 
times and in proper quantities, as Doctor Lyons ex- 
pressed it ; and Mrs. Morrell was jealous of the at- 
tentions she knew it would get at the hands of the 
visitors, for she was not so stupid but what she could 
see this would be bestowed. 

After viewing the children in the larger rooms, the 
lady visitors filed one by one into Mrs. Conant's 
room, and were enthusiastic over the appearance of 
the little baby there, who though only seven months 
old, was in much better condition than many of the 
babies a year or more old. Rev. Mr. Barnaby, with 
his written address wrapped in brown paper under 
one arm, and with the other supporting Mrs. Bar- 
naby, went the round of the building, and in due 
time came to Mrs. Conant's room. 

" What splendid babies we do have here in this 
institution. Why, my dear, they say that this child 
is poor Joe Scott's, you know, the shoemaker whom 
I let mend my gaiters a month or two ago. Nice 
fellow he is, too ; but he did put an abominable piece 
of coarse leather into' the shoes." 

u Yes, Timothy, that may be true, but you didn't 



154 "POOR SCOTT. 



have to pay anything there, did you ?" answered his 
wife. 

And there sat " poor Scott " all the time — behind a 
movable screen made to keep the wind from blow- 
ing- too hard, and the sun from shining too fiercely, 
upon his baby, and overheard it all. He often came 
in on visiting days, yet was so evidently in the way 
of Mrs. Morrell that he staid but a short time and 
sorrowfully took his leave, but this day was a holiday 
for the institution, so he packed up his kit of tools, 
cleaned and brushed his almost threadbare suit, 
scrubbed his blackened and begrimed hands, washed 
his face, brushed his shoes, made of exactly the same 
leather as the patch on Mr. Barnaby's gaiters, put 
up his blinds, and took the first holiday he had had 
for years. 

Seated behind the screen he could be out of sight 
of the visitors and yet near his child, and when the 
crowd was attracted to other parts of the building, 
bv various exercises going on. he would move up to 
the crib, and take the little fair hand in his great 
uncouth one, and watch the play of the expressions 
upon the sweet little face, or. if she fell asleep, he 
patiently sat and fanned away the flies. Once he 



155 

attempted to hold her in his arms, and play with her, 
but visitors surged into the room, and he withdrew 
to his corner. Evening came, and with it Mr. Bar- 
naby's address. The ladies were expectant, for much 
depended on this address, an appropriation from the 
State perhaps, for it was well known that the bulk of 
the support the Nursery had procured came from 
the city and county. 

" Gentlemen and ladies, friends of this institution,'' 
he began, u we are collected here to witness the suc- 
cess of one of the noblest charities in our grand city. 
Nowhere can such real good be effected as here in 
just such work as this. We educate, clothe and raise 
the poor little waifs, who, if it were not for this chari- 
ty, would die, or grow into paupers, and form a part 
of the * dangerous classes ' which so infest our cities. 
I say < we ' — this I should not say, for the success is 
due, under God's direction, to the devoted band of 
women, who have labored in season and out of sea- 
son, during times when all seemed dark, and the 
heavens were clouded ; but light came to them, and 
blessings have been showered upon their pathway. 
To the devoted, kind-hearted and intelligent matron, 
the ladies, through their humble spokesman, express 



156 UNDESERVED PRAISE. 

their appreciation, this day, of her love and tenderness 
toward those poor unfortunate little ones who have 
been intrusted to her care. The ladies also desire 
that thanks be rendered to the attending physicians 
for their services. During the past year, a few of the 
inmates have been taken away to a heavenly home, 
by an allwise Providence. Gently were their last 
hours soothed by the tender care of the matron, and 
those under her. We are not to forget that we deal 
here in this institution with the fragile plant, the deli- 
cate flower and tender bud, and that as the plant, 
flower and bud cannot well bear the storms of nature, 
so our gems cannot well stand the storms and uncer- 
tainties of life. Yet our record compares well with 
that of similar institutions. Look at the record of our 
county institutions for children, and what do you find. 
Over one-half die every year. Look into the deaths 
among the poor and neglected, and what do you find ? 
More die even. Then glance at the work which we 
have all met to celebrate and urge forward, and here 
you see the blessed results of womanly zeal and love, 
f Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these 
my brethren,' said our Saviour, ' ye have done it unto 
Me.' What a blessed thought to carry away with 



REFLECTIONS. 157 



us. May our hearts be opened to the influences of 
love for the little ones, and may we nobly respond, 
by contributions, by energy, by united effort, to the 
appeal for assistance which comes to us through the 
ladies of this Nursery." 

The above is an abstract of Mr. Barnaby's address, 
and contains the main points. After speaking the 
reverend gentleman sat down, the excercises were 
brought to a close by Mr. Billings, who read a finan- 
cial statement, the crowd dispersed, and as each per- 
son went homeward, Joe Scott remembered the patch 
on the gaiters, Miss Oley the fact that Mr. Barnaby 
had been unwilling to become a subscriber to the 
Nursery fund, Doctor Lyons that one out of every 
four children in the Nursery had died during the year, 
and Mrs. Jones called to mind that the Crosstown 
Herald constantly compared the statistics of orphan 
asylums and large institutions with those of private 
ones where there were few inmates, to the detriment 
of the latter. 

Mrs. Bond carried with her the remembrance of the 
dear little Scott baby, so well and strong, and brought 
up on the bottle, too, while Lena and I could not for- 
get the praise bestowed on the former Mrs. Flynn, 



I58 A PLAN OF REFORM. 



and no mention made of the real power for good re- 
siding in Mrs. Conant. 

All of these facts, carrica home by the people, were 
elements of dissatisfaction as to the mana^ment of 
the Nursery, and soon they crystallized into a plan of 



Chapter XI. 



THE NEW PLATFORM. 



^HE appropriation from the State treasury was not 
made for the support of the Nursery, notwith- 
standing the long and eloquent appeal of the Rev. 
Mr. Barnaby, which had been printed in circular form, 
and had been sent to all the influential people in the 
State ; and why was it not made ? Simply because 
the Honorable Charles Jenks, Senator from one of the 
country districts, combined with the Honorable 
Henry Stone, Representative from the city, to have 
the charitable appropriations laid on the table for the 
present, and they were so laid. 

These worthy gentlemen, so it seemed, had read 
the appeal. At first they were inclined to push for 
a liberal donation, but the rumors started in the city 
of New York found their way to Albany, and so it 
happened that, one day when visitors were not ex- 
pected — in the heat of Summer, when most of the 
lady managers were out of the city, enjoying the air 



l6o A TOUR OF INSPECTIO^ 

and health of the country — the two honorable gentle- 
men called at the Nursery, were invited into the re- 
ception-room, while Mrs. Morrell hastened to the 
parts of the house over which she had control, to 
"tidy up a bit,'' but was not very speedy in her re- 
turn, and the time of the gentlemen was valuable ; 
also, overhearing part of a conversation between the 
matron and one of the favorite nurses, as the two 
women scolded and fretted in the next room, because 
visitors had come just at this time when "■ everything 
was upset.'' Messrs. Jenks and Stone, securing the 
services as a guide of a little four-year old boy, who 
was peeping in at the half-open door, went up-stairs 
and through the building on a tour of inspection. 

The boy, anxious to be of service, and eager for 
the financial rewaid, which he felt sure would be his, 
still kept his eyes on the alert for the matron, for he 
well knew that he was trespassing on forbidden 
ground in daring to show visitors about. How 
blandly Mrs. Morrell did smile when the party, in 
their tour, reached the room where the matron was 
striving to " clean up after the nurses." How clev- 
erly she concealed her anger ! How natural her 
apologies and excuses for the state of affairs ! But 



HOW IT RESULTED. l6l 

Senator Jenks was " too old a bird," so he said, " to 
be caught by chaff," and Representative Stone " had 
not served several terms at Albany for nothing," so 
they concluded : 

First : That Matron Morrell was inefficient, if not 
quick-tempered and cruel, for little Sim Wiggins' 
cries had reached their ears as they passed out of the 
front door, begging for his u ten-cents," and he would 
never take people round again. 

Second : That if the matron was inefficient, the sub- 
employes would be likely to be as they had found 
them, with a few exceptions. 

Third: These exceptions were Mrs. Conant, whose 
rooms were neat and clean, whose children were well 
cared for. Then there were nurses who were en- 
deavoring to do right, surrounded as they were by 
lazy women. 

Fourth : That as records were kept imperfectly, lit- 
tle reliability could be placed on the published statis- 
tics of the institution. 

Fifth ; That Mr. Barnaby's appeal had misled them 
as to the healthfulness, care, order and usefulness of 
the Nursery. 

So the gentlemen went back to Albany, sadder but 



1 62 

wiser men, and straightway examined the appeals and 
statistics from the other institutions. An investiga- 
tion committee was appointed. 

" Mistakes " and " clerical errors " only were found 
as to the number of persons treated in some of the 
dispensaries, asylums, homes and nurseries, and as to 
the rate of mortality, it surely must have been u un- 
intentional " for babies to die within a few hours after 
reaching their mothers' homes from a stay in an in- 
stitution, or for a baby to be sent from one building 
to die in another ; but the committee did not think 
so, and the appropriations, in some instances, were 
omitted, and in others the amount was reduced. 

The lady managers of our Nursery, disappointed 
though they were at not receiving the money, went 
to work, organized a garden party, worked three 
days almost constantly, and finally realized one hun- 
dred and fifty dollars — a small amount apparently 
for the labor bestowed and the money expended, 
but no smaller is it than other institutions have ob- 
tained. 

Mrs. Billings, and a few active workers, still clung 
to the Nursery, and worked as well as they could, 
but outside interest was flagging- Money did not 



"A GRAND NURSERY BALL." 163 

pour in as at the outset. The people at large were 
beginning- to make comparisons upon the mortality 
in this and other similar institutions. The " people 
were very unreasonable," said Mrs. Billings. " The 
'people,'" replied Mr. Billings, ''must know less of 
what we are doing. The Nursery must not go down. 
We must economize. Cut down the grocers' and 
butchers' bills. Can't you take off butter from one 
of the meals, and use less milk.'' 

Children were still admitted and children died, 
though not as many as in hot weather. With the 
Winter came a u grand ball," which was given for the 
benefit of one of the grandest charities, the " Nursery.'' 
But the excitement attending the preparations for 
the ball, the long lists of presidents and vice-presi- 
dents, managers and friends, paraded so conspicu- 
ously in the papers, the wrought-up enthusiasm — the 
moneyed results — did not upset the views of thinking 
people — and there was still dissatisfaction in certain 
quarters. 

It was useless for the young lady managers to affirm 
that the babies were " little darlings/' and that the 
physicians to the institution were perfectly lovely 
when the thinking people could see that the babies 



164 A GRATEFUL FATHER. 

were wasting away, and that the doctors — " ladies' 
men '' though they were — neat in appearance and 
gentlemen in manners, could not, or would not, ferret 
out odors, do unpleasant work, or spend time in giv- 
ing instruction. 

These " thinking people," much to the disgust and 
displeasure of the Billings' faction, went still further, 
and compared the physicians with those of other 
institutions which had earned a solid reputation for 
good work, and found that, for an institution to suc- 
ceed, a physician must be a worker as well as a 
gentleman ; that he must have persons under him 
who are competent ; that he must have the power 
to regulate matters pertaining to food, clothing, 
medicine and sanitation ; that he ought to be paid a 
salary. 

Scott was one of " the people," and so delighted 
was he with the healthy condition of his own child, 
and so sorry for the weakly ones, he was compelled 
to see whenever he made his visit to the Nursery, 
that he even aroused himself to the importance of a 
change in affairs. 

A valuable man Scott proved to be, ready for any 
work ; and so it came that he carried messages from 



A SPECIAL MEETING CALLED. 165 

Miss Oley to Doctor Lyons, from the doctor to Miss 
Oley, and from each, or both, to some of the other 
people, who were now banded together for reform. 

The messages were always on nursery matters, 
of course ; but is it likely that even two such enthu- 
siasts as the doctor and Miss Oley could write joint 
letters — as they were compelled to do at times — and 
yet for ever stick to the subject before them, and 
talk of nothing else ? 

In due time a special meeting of the lady and gen- 
tlemen managers was called to again consider some 
plan for the raising of money. Some of the younger 
ladies were in favor of a Martha Washington Tea 
Party, where the characters might be assumed by 
the members of the joint board, and so save expense, 
and combine pleasure Avith business. 

" Our president, Mrs. Billings, might be Lady 
Washington, and Mr. Solomon might be the general, 
and I am sure our physicians will personate some 
of the people of 'ye olden time,'" said the lively 
Miss Pell. 

But Mr. Solomon, a worthy, generous, practical 
German, who had been placed on the board of mana- 
gers for his influence, did not agree with the sug- 



1 66 THE HONEST GERMAN'S SENTIMENTS. 

gestion ; and when, in his earnest, emphatic way, he 
replied : " Miss Pell, vat we want now is to put dis 
Nursery on its legs like a l biziness ' man does with 
his own biziness," the sentiment was loudly ap- 
plauded by the thinking people ; and when the 
thinking people were counted, it was found that 
their number was in the majority, though the wealth 
was with the other side. ' 

But, now that the ice was broken, it was astonish- 
ing to see how easily the opinion of any one could 
be elicited, and how strongly were the views in favor 
of a reorganization. Persons who before should have 
told of what they had seen, now came forward and 
testified, explaining their previous silence to be the 
result of not wishing to have any "unpleasantness.* 

When matters became so bad that they were 
openly apparent — after so many babies had died — 
-then, and not till then, did some of these ladies come 
forward and state that " it was a real shame how 
things had been going on." Mrs. Morrell was called 
in, and the charges of inefficiency and neglect made 
against her. 

To the astonishment of many, she made no de- 
fense, except that she had " done her best, and it 






THE UNFAITHFUL MATRON RESIGNS. 167 

was a shame " Here she stopped, and handed in 

her resignation, written out in full, in a hand that 
looked to me very much like that of Billings' confi- 
dential clerk. She would probably have finished her 
sentence, had not Billings (so I thought) winked with 
his right eye in a very suspicious manner. 

So she left, but only to take charge ot a half- 
orphan asylum in another county. Her chief re- 
commendations to that place, so it seemed, were — ' 
First, that she had quite an extended experience in a 
nursery, and second, that she was introduced by the 
Honorable Mr. Billings to the notice of the trustees. 
These trustees, knowing of Mr. B. by reputation, 
and appreciating the value or experience, appointed 
Mrs. Morrell — once Flynn, once O'Flaherty — and 
felt secure. How long their apparent security lasted 
I do not know, for I have never heard. 

After several meetings had been held, and much 
feeling had been shown in various quarters, a de- 
cision was arrived at. Mrs. Conant was placed in 
charge of the Nursery, with instructions to use the 
greatest economy consistent with health and happi- 
ness. The board of managers were cut down in size. 
The executive committee of seven, chosen by the 



A BETTER STATE OF THINGS. 



members of the board by ballot, were to hold office 
for one year, to have entire charge of the building 
and its wants, to attend to the finances, supplies, 
procurement of nurses, to divide into sub-commit- 
tees, and do the work formerly attempted by twenty 
ladies. The advisory board of gentlemen was to 
hold itself in readiness to assist with advice. Regular 
meetings were to be held, at which the physicians, 
advisory board, ladies and matron, should be present 
if possible — at least, until the real executive business 
came up. 

All complaints were to be submitted in writing to 
the full board, 

No more children were to be admitted than could 
be properly cared for. 

All directions of the physicians were to be regis- 
tered in a book, to be open to any member of the 
board, and every direction was to be carried out if 
possible, and if not carried out, the reasons there- 
for were to be entered in the book, opposite the 
directions. 

The matron was to be assisted by competent, paid 
help, and not by paupers or those who were incom- 
petent through igr^orapce or a low social standing. 



BETTER DAYS FOR THE BABIES. 169 

Mrs. Billings had withdrawn her influence and 
presence, on the ground that " things had changed 
too much " Both physicians, with ruffled dignity, 
retired gracefully. Rev. Mr. Barnaby could " not 
longer countenance an institution which could not 
be independent and assert itself, in spite of falsifying 
investigating committees." Ah, the institution did 
assert itself, and the same old building which had 
heard the death-moans of many a baby, now re- 
sounded with merry laughter, and the joyful cooing 
of the little ones. Did any die? Certainly they did, 
as babies will always die, but the number was small, 
and there was no lack of careful, motherly attention, 
for many of the nurses were mothers in fact. Clean- 
liness and order were everywhere and in everything. 
There was none of the loud calling in rooms and 
hall-ways that had disturbed the little sick babies 
in Mrs. Morrell's time. Inside the house, where the 
babies were, there was quiet and rest. The older 
children had a room to themselves where they could 
play and romp. On pleasant days, from the yard 
rolled upward merry sounds from the players there. 
The bedrooms, with the wire-woven mattresses, the 
clean counterpanes, the freedom from vermin, dirt 



170 THE PROGRESSIVE CHRISTIAN GENTLEMAN. 

and odor, were real resting-places for the tired and 
worn-out bodies of the children. 

A year passed away, and the Rev. John Peters, 
chaplain of the institution, read the annual report 
and made a few remarks. The report was a record, 
plain and straightforward, of the substantial work 
accomplished, a full and detailed statement of re- 
ceipts and expenditures and the expression of hopes 
for the future. There was none of the clap-trap 
sentiment which so often mars the beauty and use- 
fulness of a charity. The remarks of the chaplain 
were hopeful, encouraging ones. Not perfect, but 
striving to be, he was the embodiment of the pro- 
gressive Christian gentleman. Without ostentation, 
without any previous study of mere statistics, his 
words touched the hearts of his hearers with real 
power. They came from a heart overflowing with 
genuineness and zeal. No sooner had he uttered 
the final words, " My friends, we have had much to 
be thankful for during the year — let us pray," than 
Scott (who had served faithfully as janitor) hid his 
face in his large pocket handkerchief and prayed 
with his whole soul, even if his lips did not move. 
There were other happy, grateful people there who 



WHAT SCOTT'S LITTLE BABY DID. 171 

agreed fully with Scott, " That if a thing was worth 
doing at all, it was worth doing well." 

The evening after the anniversary a reception was 
held at my house, and the thinking people assembled 
in goodly numbers and were happy. " Wasn't it 
splendid, Lena," said Miss Oley. " Arn't you glad 
that my doctor was appointed physician. We are to 
be married soon, and I don't object any longer to 
Doctor Lyons, because he is an unmarried man. 
Why, Lena, Scott's little baby brought it all about, 
I couldn't help loving the man, who loved that dear 
little tot." Yes, Scott's baby did effect this union 
and the little innocent did more — it established the 
Nursery on safe business and humane principles. 



Chapter XII. 

OUR JOHNNIE. 

<§)S the Scott baby had effected much for the doctor 
and his lady, so the Matthews baby had taught us 
many things. 

Johnnie was now three years old, had passed 
through tribulations that grieved him and tried us. 
Some bad boy had u stole his yag baby," one 
*l dumped his big fat worm out of the box," another 
called him Jack, while another advised him u not to 
wear petticoats like girls.'' He had tl swored at a 
man 'cause he stepped on the pussy's tail f- but it 
was ascertained that the swearing consisted in in- 
forming the man that he was bad, and wouldn't go to 
heaven. 

We cannot at this time follow our boy through the 
joys and sorrows always intermingled, with the top, 
kite, school and jack-knife period of a boy's life, but 
must retrace our steps, and inform you how he man- 
aged to reach his third year, or, rather, how a good 



THE BABY S TEETH. 173 

constitution, anxious friends, loving- parents and sur- 
rounding circumstances, pulled him along life's jour- 
ney. 

Some time since we left him at his eight month of 
life, and the possessor of a tooth ; now the companion 
teeth, nineteen in number — known in the books as 
" milk or deciduous teeth," because, as a rule, they 
fall out and are replaced by the permanent set — made 
their appearance without exciting as much comment 
as did the venturesome first one. 

To be sure, our servant became greatly alarmed at 
the prospect of the " eye-tooth v coming through, and 
Mrs. Vincent sent a package of slippery elm (it was 
ten inches in length and weighed about a pound) for 
little Johnnie to chew upon when the teeth should 
trouble him. Interested friends sent hard rubber 
rings and soft ones, black doll babies and white 
ones, for the purpose of amusing and benefiting, 
but he clung to his slippery elm and some lico- 
rice roots. There were all sorts of prophecies as 
to what we might expect when such or such teeth 
were cut, when the cold or hot weather would be 
upon us, when the whooping-cough, measles, scarlet- 
fever and diphtheria should appear in the neighbor^ 



174 " CROAKERS — MALE AND FEMALE. 

hood. Lena's connection with the Nursery brought 
her into communication with the female croaker or 
grumbler, and I stumbled upon the male ones in and 
out of business hours. The very fact of my known 
interest in the Nursery, and being recognized as a 
father, pointed me out as a target for the fault-finders. 
Old Sol Wiggins complained bitterly of the cost of 
supporting a family — the eldest child, meanwhile, 
having free board with a maiden sister in Vermont, 
the second had a good situation and paid his board, 
while the Nursery supported little Sim. Mrs. Lazelle 
was full of evil forebodings — was ready to point out, 
at any time, that some sick child would certainly die 
as the tide went out. The question suggested itself, 
why can't the tide always come in, then? 

The Church Sewing Society became a gossiping 
society, and dire stories were told of what had hap- 
pened the various children at various times ; detailed 
accounts were given of severe accidents, prolonged 
sickness or sudden deaths. 

All this did not tend to calm the minds of sensitive 
parents, and it required considerable training for 
Lena and myself to hear these accounts without anxi- 
ety ; but we became quite stoical, so much so that 



JOHNNIE'S WELL CONSTRUCTED SCREAMS. 175 

our parents did really believe that we were less affec- 
tionate than of old. 

The Winter came and went without the doctor's 
visits. Our house could be kept comfortably warm 
at about seventy degrees Fahrenheit. We had 
learned the value of proper clothing for the boy from 
Lena's nursery experience. The lessons derived 
from watching Mrs. Conant's care of the Scott baby 
had shown the value of proper food. As the teeth 
appeared, baked potatoes, with beef gravy, bread-and- 
butter, oatmeal, swiebach, the pulp of a ripe apple, a 
very little stewed fruit, or the juice thereof, some 
meat to suck or carefully chew, were given and rel- 
ished. 

The greatest trials we had to contend with were, 
undoubtedly, kind-hearted but officious friends and 
neighbors. One warm evening when the windows 
were open, and people sat out of doors to cool off 
after the labor and heat of the day, Johnnie gave vent 
to a series of well-constructed screams. One lady 
came from over the way to inform us that the baby 
was crying, just as if wc didn't hear the racket. It 
may have been that she did not see us, in the dark- 
ness, sitting on the steps, but it was provoking. 



176 DIET AND CLOTHING BETTER THAN PHYSIC. 

At another time Mrs. Ferry called with an oint- 
ment which she had made. " It was compounded 
from an old family recipe, and was good for most 
everything." The same lady had a cough mixture 
which she said had cured cases of consumption and 
colds of every kind, and she felt sure it would be the 
very best thing for Johnnie's cough. 

A few doors down whooping-cough had appeared, 
and several children in the neighborhood had begun 
to cough in sympathy. 

Johnnie's cold in his head, attended by a wee bit 
of a cough, afforded an excellent chance for Mrs. 
Ferry and others to bring forward various domestic 
remedies. Our boy survived the taste of a number 
of them, and there was no charge for a doctor till, 
after one dose given by myself against my judgment 
even, he was taken quite sick, and I felt compelled to 
send for Doctor Lyons. The doctor did not believe 
there had been any necessity for the dose, so 1 paid 
the fee and felt wiser. I thought and concluded 
that it would have been better if I had not given 
that dose ; so we learned by various mistakes that a 
large proportion of the slight ailments of childhood 
can be overcome by attention to diet, clothing, place 



" LITTLE WORRIES AND BIG WORRIES." 1 77 

of residence, condition of the air, exercise and clean- 
liness. 

These lessons were all the time, too, being brought 
home to us through our visits to the Nursery and to 
tenement-houses and baby-farming homes, to say 
nothing of the disgust produced by learning of the 
practices of friends — giving medicine" to ward off 
diseases, to cure (?) them, to get rid of phlegm, to 
dispose of bile, to increase or lessen the appetite, 
etc. Indiscriminate dosing was forthwith abolished 
in our house, and a stand was made against kind but 
persistent advisers. I have gone over some of these 
trials connected with the raising of our baby, and 
may mention more, for if any one expects to rear a 
child without worry of mind, such an one will be 
deceived. It was some of the so-called little worries 
that caused us the most anxiety, the how not to do 
it, as well as the when to do it. For the big worries 
we sought out competent advice, and then had the 
satisfaction of doing the best we knew how. So our 
little fellow, through his very helplessness, taught 
the parents how to have patience, how to manage, 
how to sympathize. What a store of information 
there was, too, in our visits to the tenement popu- 



i;8 VISITING THE POOR. 

lation! Hundreds of families living in a block of 
houses, ten, twenty and even thirty families in a 
house, court-yards or alley-ways reeking with garb- 
age and filth, house-cellars receptacles for refuse, 
with imperfect drainage ; house-tops laid out as 
clothes-yards, or used on a hot night as sleeping- 
places when the bedrooms became intolerable. 

In the majority of these houses there were no 
conveniences for bathing. The water supply was 
not sufficient. The one iron faucet in each hallway 
was patronized by thirsty women and children the 
livelong day. What could a poor, but respectably 
inclined mother do in such habitations to keep her 
children healthy and free from moral corruption, 
when one must meet immorality in the hallways, at 
the water- spout — in fact, at every turn? She was 
helpless, unless better tenements were built where 
she could find others of her class, or if she was not 
upheld by the sympathy and aid from outside. 

Our little Nursery Reform Society gave this. 
With Miss Oley at the head, we visited these de- 
serving mothers, distributed pamphlets on health, 
the care of houses and children, pointed out how a 
little paint or scrubbing, a flower, a clean table- 



"A MODEL TENEMENT HOUSE/ 7 1 79 

cloth, cheap wall-pictures, the arrangement of furni- 
ture and closets, the use of lime whitewash, a little 
disinfection, proper cooking, the absence of greasy 
food, and attention to the little details of housekeep- 
ing, would result in keeping a home for the children. 

The gentlemen, on these visiting tours, did little 
else, I fear, than escort the ladies, which after-his- 
tory pointed out as not being very unpleasant for 
Miss Oley and the doctor, at least. But when Mr. 
Solomon suggested that a model tenement-house 
should be built, and that he would furnish the funds, 
the gentlemen became active co-operators — with 
advice — and this building was established on M busi- 
ness principles." It sheltered many a worthy family 
at little expense to each one. 

Health became, in realit}^ wealth to many. No 
longer was there danger of contact with the low 
poverty which debases and defiles. In choosing 
from the applicants for rooms, we discovered that 
baby-farming was carried on extensively, and per- 
sons engaged in it were not admitted as tenants. 
One woman, receiving eight dollars per month from 
the city for the care of a child, had three children in 
her house — all babies — and these were fed upon a 



l80 ONLY " ONE IN A HUNDRED." 

quart of milk and a cup of cornstarch per day. There 
was not enough milk, and the cornstarch, like nearly 
all starchy foods, fermented, created trouble, and the 
children died, only to be replaced by another batch 
from the city's overseers of the poor. One woman 
was reported to have had one hundred children 
under her care, and to have reared one only. There 
was every evidence of want ot care and the absence 
of oversight, so our Nursery, after its reconstruction, 
made arrangements with the city, by which the little 
ones were transferred to Mrs. Conant's care, and the 
baby-farming was largely broken up. Among the 
results of these investigations was the knowledge 
that many little children died, one might say, with 
the consent and by the wishes of the mothers. 

Overrun with large families, and with little means 
of support, the survival of the fittest only was the 
natural result, when tender care and means for the 
support of life could not be obtained. Here again 
the Nursery did a good work, and transferred some 
of these families to their country branch; where the 
children were made useful about the grounds, and 
the parents in and out of the house. 

In the early days of the Nursery it had been diffi- 



"BABY'S SECOND SUMMER. l8l 

cult to procure good nurses. Now many of the 
ladies, who were before mere figure heads as direc- 
tors, had opportunities for work— real, live work, 
So varied was it that each one's inclinations were 
suited. Some raised funds, some sought out the 
needy, found suitable nurses, kept the interest alive, 
procured employment for those who had served the 
Nursery well, prepared entertainments to cheer up 
the inmates, planned out and provided trips and ex- 
cursions — did more work, and with more harmony, 
than could have been expected if all were officers. 
Such a band of workers had never been known be- 
fore in the Nursery. 

In the midst of our work Summer came — Johnnie's 
second Summer. All sorts of evil had been prophe- 
sied, and we naturally dreaded the hot weather. 
Neighbors were hurrying out of town, and places 
were deserted. 

My wife and I were besought to go away for the 
boy's sake ; so we did, and, after answering a cheer- 
fully worded advertisement, found ourselves in one 
small room, with a small closet adjoining, in a low 
hot, half-farmhouse and half-village residence, at good 
boarding rates, where ice was costly and a luxury, and 



1 82 COUNTRY TRIBULATIONS. 

where milk, eggs and the best of the fresh vegetables 
were sent to the city. The advertisement did men- 
tion the fact that there were fresh vegetables, but 
did not say how they were disposed of. Mothers 
with sick babies were at the same house, and found 
it impossible to obtain what they were in need of. 

The country doctor lived miles away, and if wanted 
it might be hours before he could reach them. We 
had prided ourselves on not being compelled to em- 
ploy a physician, but our close quarters, scanty supply 
of milk and the hot weather, made Johnnie sick, and 
we then wished ourselves home, where we went as 
soon as we could, but it was a mistake bringing the 
boy to the city in the hot weather ; he only grew 
thinner and sicker. 

The seashore was not far away, so we went there 
to inhale the salt air and to derive benefit from the 
cool breezes, but we found that there were hot days 
there as well as in the city, and that, unless we were 
careful to keep the boy out of the sun and well pro- 
tected from the damp winds, that we lost rather than 
gained with him. That was an expensive Summer, 
one trip to the country and back, one to the seashore 
and back, doctor's fees, anxiety and worry of mind, 



BABY TRIALS OVER. 1 83 

quite an amount to place over against the peace of 
mind which we might have had if we had staid at 
home, where at least we could be comfortable. We 
looked in vain for large roomy apartments in the 
country, in the mountains, or by the seashore, where 
all the conveniences necessary to the care of the sick 
could be had at reasonable prices. 

Fall and Winter came, and our boy slowly regained 
his health, and soon reached his third year. His 
baby trials were over; we had learned much, had 
many sorrows and joys, and it was well that we had, 
for again the doctor was in the house, again was a 
nurse procured, and a second time was I a father. 

■' A dreary place would be this earth, 
Were there no little people in it ; 
The song of life would lose its mirth, 
Were their no children to begin it. 

" The sterner souls would grow more stern, 
Unfeeling natures more inhuman, 
And man to stoic coldness turn, 

And woman would be less than woman." 



Chapter XIII. 

WHICH CONCLUDES THE WORK — BABY REACHES HIS THIRD YEAR. 

^HE author having- brought his baby to its third 
year of life, and having reared it, after more trials 
and narrow escapes than fall to the lot of many 
youngsters, feels that, in justice to himself, and with 
a due regard to the boy's happiness in the future, 
he should allow him to rest a while, and so he now 
proposes to be the father no longer, but to finish 
what he has to say, as one who has had occasion in 
various fields to see what transpires in divers families, 
establishments and institutions, and has drawn what 
useful information he could from the observations. 

As it is undoubtedly true that many pills are best 
taken with some kind of coating, and the writer was 
asked to furnish practical hints under the guise of a 
story, in the hope that they might be interesting 
and useful, the readers have had an abundant oppor- 
tunity to decide upon the point. Certainly you will 
admit, my friends, that every day, in this world of 



MOTHERS AND MOTHERS-IN-LAW. 185 

ours, young people are married, and start in life by 
themselves, many of them utterly ignorant of the 
cares of a family or the expenses incurred in sustain- 
ing life. Some of them have mothers or mothers-in- 
law. Mrs. Vincent and Mrs. Matthews represent 
but two types. 

They may be separated into four classes, the sen- 
sible, ^-sensible, disagreeable, and harmful. For 
the sensible mother and mother-in-law, who, remem- 
bering her own trials with her first child, stands 
ready to give advice, or to render assistance, when 
needed ; who d« es iot assume all responsibility, but 
merely upholds the hands of the novices ; whose 
manner, countenance, and actions, excite love and 
happiness — for such women we cannot say -too much. 

To the not-sensible class, without judgment, whose 
own children have been brought up to have things, 
simply because they wanted them, or who have been 
managed too severely, thus driving them away from 
home, or too leniently, resulting also in a severence 
of home-ties — to such people a sermon might be 
preached on the value of common sense, if it was not 
evident to the people themselves that even young 
married couples, full of love as they are, will tire 



1 86 A TOPIC FOR CLERGYMEN. 

alter a while at being interfered with : but plain as 
the evidence is. the world still goes on. interferences 
occur, the dignity and authority of the young father 
are at a minimum, and the sermon — well, the topic 
will be a glorious one for the clergyman to deal 
with, and. as such, we respectfully ask that it be 
made use of. 

The disagreeable and harmful classes of maternals 
are the ones who figure largely in domestic broils and 
the public courts. They have not been introduced 
into our story, as our baby might not have survived 
their presence. Some one has said that a baby is a 
mass of " living pulp." soft, delicate, with all the or- 
gans of the body, which contains the mechanism of life, 
either ready to perform their duties, or preparing to 
perform them. Susceptible pulp it is. easily affected 
by rough usage ; yet with great recuperative power. 
The comparative health-record of the children of 
comparative families and institutions is a good test 
of healthful habitations and proper care, as the rate of 
sickness and mortality is to the contrary. And what 
is a healthful habitation, proper care, and the neces- 
sary condition of a child for prompt recuperation ? 
Our healthful habitation is a home where prevail 



" TWO SORTS OF MATERNITY." 1 87 

cleanliness, freedom from smell, free ventilation of air 
with protection from storms and prompt disposal of 
refuse, of sewage by good drainage and sewerage, of 
garbage by every day burning in the fire or by cart- 
age. 

Proper care is the provision and maintenance of a 
healthful habitation, the giving of food which is nutri- 
tious, agreeable to the taste, well prepared, and free 
from adulteration, the guarding against variations in 
temperature by suitable clothing. It means an obser- 
vation of hygienic laws, and a co-partnership of men- 
tal and physical health with strength, each depend- 
ing on the other. 

" There are two sorts of maternity,'' says Profes- 
sor Foussagrives, in his admirable book, " The 
Mother's Work with Sick Children," viz., " that of 
blood and that involved in the care of children, the 
one being the complement of the other. Tenderness 
is the pivot of the former, intelligence that of the lat- 
ter." 

The mother without tenderness and intelligence 
cannot well raise a family of children, if she succeeds 
in raising one, even. How, then, my readers ask, is 
it that there are so many living, healthly-looking chil- 



188 THE CRUSHED MACHINIST. 

dren among the poor and neglectful ? We reply that 
the mortality is fearful and can only be appreciated 
by the student and those who come in contact with 
the poor. As a rule, the children who survive are the 
sturdy ones, or with good hereditary health, who live 
in the open air. and can procure but the simplest 
food. These gamins cut loose from their mother often- 
times, and care for themselves. Healthful habitations 
proper care and a good heredity are the conditions, 
therefore, for the prompt recuperation which we have 
mentioned. It were well if parents could appreciate 
that bad habits, actions and language, mental and 
physical ailments, peculiarities and idiosyncrasies 
often descend from parent to child. This question of 
hereditary strength of constitution meets the physi- 
cian and surgeon at everv turn. It is often the decid- 
ing point in the recovery from a severe sickness. A 
gentleman related to me the following incident: A 

friend 01 his. Doctor J , passing through a street 

of a country village, came upon a crowd surrounding 
a man who had been crushed in some machinery. 
The doctor was appealed to for assistance, but the 
man was mangled and had several bones broken. He 
was unconscious ; his extremities were coid, and life 



THEM FULLERS." 189 



seemed to be ebbing away so fast that the doctor did 
not consider it possible to do anything except to bury 
him when he should die, and so he informed the peo- 
ple and passed on. 

Soon a rough hand was laid upon his shoulder, and 
the owner of the hand, a fellow-laborer with the in- 
jured man, said : 

" Doc, what do you think of that man yonder ?" 

" Think !" replied the doctor, " why that he will die 
and must be buried." 

" Now, doc," urged the man, " do come back and 
do something; you don't understand them Fullers." 

So Doctor J went back, bound up the wounds, 

splinted the broken bones, and helped carry the 
body home. Fully interested, he staid with the 
man. For twenty-four hours there was no sign of 
recovery, then he opened his eyes and asked for a 
drink. 

After leaving directions as to care, the doctor 
was compelled to leave town. Some months after 
he returned to the place to find the man walking 
about. Ever since he believes in understanding 
" them Fullers," and so may we all. The Rev. Mr. 
Barnaby, Mrs. Billings and Mrs. Morrell didn't un- 



igo HYGIENIC REGULATIONS. 

derstand, and don't to this day. They are the peo- 
ple who excuse their shortcomings, their want of 
care, and the absence of judgment, by •? it was a 
dispensation of Divine Providence " — " the child was 
to die anyway.'' We can't be expected to do a 
great deal." Miss Nightingale and others in England 
have not thought so. but have gone to work to in- 
struct, to elevate the tone of the working classes ; in 
chort, to do what can be done by human hands, 
loving hearts and well-directed zeal. 

Glasgow burnt to ashes the " fever nests " and 
some polluted sections in her precincts, and then 
rebuilt with well-constructed houses, and so lowered 
the rate of mortality. Infections and contagious 
diseases have time and time again been " stamped 
out " from localities, habitations and institutions 
by a vigorous enforcement of sanitary measures. 
Committees of inspection have found that the best 
results are to be obtained in public institutions from 
continual care and oversight rather than from the 
mere construction of a building ; that a poorly built 
house, with good care, will give better results than 
the finest buildins: without it ; and so Mr. Lazelie 
thought, but Mrs. L would not admit it and 



THINKING PEOPLE. I9I 



never will. While the world contains many of the 
Lazelle family, it fortunately points to the Jones, 
Percys and persons of that stamp who belong to the 
"thinking people." Scott was right when he be- 
lieved that " things were worth doing well." Indi- 
viduals holding positions of trust and responsibility, 
if they are honest and faithful, should be retained, 
and their services suitably rewarded. There is no 
greater mistake than to let politics, favoritism, or a 
religious belief have anything to do with the appoint- 
ment, retention or dismissal of any faithful employee, 
however humble the position. Much of the trouble 
in the world is caused by misunderstanding and igno- 
rance, and especially is it so with matters pertaining 
to children. Men and women, careful, particular 
and generous in their households and places of busi- 
ness, are too often mere figure-heads when made 
trustees of institutions. They do not appreciate the 
importance of their positions, and have rather vague 
beliefs that others will see that everything goes on 
rightly. The tendency to shirk responsibility is 
widespread, and the world needs more Oleys, Solo- 
mons and Lyons, each in his or her sphere, attempt- 
ing to fathom the abyss of ignorance, and to separate 



IQ2 <; HEALTHY PARENTS AND SICKLY CHILDREN." 



the business principles which constitute the ma- 
chinery of all charitable enterprises from sentiment 
and enthusiasm, surely necessary, but as assistants 

onlv. 

j 

Unceasing vigilance therefore will do much toward 
rearing children in public and private homes, but it 
is astonishing how little there is of it even amonsr 
the better classes. Take the ordinary collection of 
families at a picnic, and what do we see ? First, 
large, healthy parents, with puny, sickly children. 
Trace up the history, and we find that some of the 
children were born weakly — the result of some in- 
dulgence in the parents, or they were at some time 
of their existence prostrated by a severe sickness, 
which has left them puny and weak. The sickness 
itself may have been a preventable one. Again, the 
feeble condition may have been produced by over- 
indulgence, the abuse of sweets and pastry, and the 
absence oi substantial, nourishing food. 

Healthy parents with several sickly children form 
a sad spectacle to the thinking person. As there are 
large women with large, healthy children, so we find 
many little women with children of the same kind, 
but there are small women whose children have 



BEWARE OF THE PHARISEES. I93 

gained their size and strength at the expense of the 
mothers, who have overnursed and overfed. By 
the side of these puny mothers will be seen very 
often large and strong fathers, contentedly bearing 
the weight of a pipe, cigar, or perhaps a small hand- 
bag. Then what little tyrants these overnursed, 
overfed babies and children are apt to be, nagging, 
worrying the life out, even, of these frail mothers ! 

The family that appeals to our sympathy most is 
composed of the sickly parents, or mothers, and the 
sickly children. Women so poor, or in such desti- 
tute circumstances from some sudden calamity, that 
they neither have food enough to sustain themselves 
or their children ; women who have not the strength 
to insist upon obedience and whose future points to 
nothing but darkness. It may perhaps quiet the 
conscience of the oily Mr. Barnaby, the resplendent 
Billings, rich in money and pride, and the dignified 
Doctor Namen, to contend that these people ought 
to have brighter hopes, higher aspirations, that they 
should not despair, that there is plenty of work if 
they will only look for it. Why, my friends they 
have looked and looked. Only yesterday the Rev 
Mr. Barnaby booked the father of one of these fam- 



194 THE WOUNDED SOLDIER. 

ilies as a tramp, simply because he appeared respect- 
able and asked for assistance. Billings and Namen 
never gave them any encouragement. These are 
the families who must have encouragement and care 
if they are to be saved. These are the people who 
should be recuperated in mountain resorts, summer 
homes in the country, and seaside sanitariums. They 
yield the best results in health, happiness and grati- 
tude. When these results are obtained, then appear 
hope, the desire and ability to work, and faith in the 
future — and not till then. 

During the late Civil War, on my tour through 
some hospital tents after a severe battle, I encoun- 
tered an earnest man who was endeavoring to do 
something for the poor sick and wounded soldiers, 
but evidently he knew but little of the stern realities 
of life. Going to the bedside of a man who had 
lost considerable blood from a wound in the thigh, 
whose clothing was bloody and dirty from the 
wound and long dusty marches, whose very appear- 
ance indicated hunger and fatigue, he asked, "Is 
there anything that I can do for you, my unfortunate 
friend?" 

"Do?" replied the man. "Why, give me some- 



BREAD BEFORE TRACTS. 1 95 

thing to eat and drink. Dress this wound, and then 
let's have something clean on." 

" I have no food for the body," said the agent, 
u but something for the soul, which is better !" 
And thereupon he drew from his pocket a religious 
tract. 

This called forth a volley of oaths from the sol- 
dier, and the tract man disappeared. 

Soon the wound-dresser came on his round, and 
the wounded man was cleansed, dressed and fed. 
Calling to the orderly of the ward — " Orderly," said 
he, "tell that man with the tracts I will read one 
now with pleasure. But how could a fellow take it 
in when he had been fighting and marching for three 
days?" 

If a man can be reached through a good dinner, 
certainly these people can be elevated by nourish- 
ing bodily and mental food. 

Let us take another look at this picnic-party, 
which is a little world of society in itself. There are 
the spoilt children, youngsters who will only eat 
certain things, who are selfishly inclined in whatever 
they do, who have whatever they ask or whine for, 
who run to excess and abuse. Is it likely that such 



I96 PROPER FOOD FOR BABIES. 

children can well stand the adversities of life? Then 
there are the disgusting children, with clothing always 
soiled, with disgusting habits, with decayed teeth 
and offensive breath, and these do not always belong 
to the poorer classes. 

How did Mrs. Conant and the doctor reform the 
nursery and gain such good results ? And how can 
we all decrease mortality among children, and make 
many families happy? 

First : By seeing that every mother who can nurse 
her child — giving sufficient and proper nourishment 
— does so at as nearly regular times as can be. 

Second : That nursing however little, with feeding, 
is better than feeding alone. 

Third : If artificial feeding has to be resorted to, 
milk and lime-water, or mixed with barley or oat- 
meal water, rusk and milk — or bread (not fresh) and 
milk should be used, from perfectly clean feeding- 
bottles. The milk should be fresh, alkaline or neu- 
tral to test paper, and should not curdle in boiling. 

Fourth : Up to two years of age milk should be the 
main food. After two years, vegetables, cereal 
grains, meat in moderation, and fruit, with cocoa and 
milk as drinks, in preference to tea and coffee. 



DRESSING THE BABY, I97 

Fifth : If there is any suspicion as to the drinking- 
water, boil it, or filter through charcoal and gravel, 
or one of the silicated carbon filters. I have known 
a young hickory sapling remaining in a well-prized 
cistern of drinking rain water for a short time to have 
rendered the water unfit for use. Ice may retain im- 
purities, and is to be watched. 

Sixth ; Extra clothing is better than the heat from 
fires, and should be used where possible, as the dan- 
ger of overheating houses is lessened. Open fire- 
place stoves are preferable to closed ones. The 
" Fire on the Hearth " is an admirable one. 

The heat of Summer can be modified in sleeping- 
rooms by the use of wire-woven mattresses, or ham- 
mocks for sleeping, cooling the air of the room by ice 
placed in an open tub or box, or by hanging in the 
windows cloths wet in cold water. The children 
should be sponged frequently, and if there is great 
heat of skin, the baby should be thoroughly oiled in 
addition with olive oil, vaseline or cosmoline, the 
surplus oil remaining on the skin to be removed by 
a dry towel. The clothing should be thin, but always 
remember that a weakly child is easily affected 
by cold or damp winds, so that judgment is needed. 



THE AUTHOR'S FAREWELL. 



Seventh : Air is absolutely essential to the child 
and the very best is none too good. Night air must 
be used as well as the day. Then many of the chil- 
dren in our cities in the hot weather will recover from 
their sickness. 

Eight : Disinfection of rooms, cellars, etc., may be 
effected by chlorine gas, evolved from a mixture of 
four ounces of permanganate of potash and one pound 
of muriatic acid. The objection to it is that it 
bleaches out colors. Sulphurous acid may be used 
by placing hot coals and sulphur in a lid on a pan of 
hot ashes. In either case, the window should be 
closed for six or eight hours while disinfection is going 
on, the carpets and hangings having been taken from 
the room. Sulphate of iron (copperas), and bromo- 
chloralum, are useful to disinfect water-closets, gar- 
bage receptacles, and the like. 

And now the writer must part with his readers, 
trusting that the seed of truth, already sown in the 
story and the summing up, may not have fallen on 
stony ground. 

As an aid to those who may need the information, the names of 
the following reliable books and journals are given for further 
reference : 

"Health and Education." by Charles Kingsley ; the "London Public Health,' 1 
and also the "London Sanitary Record;" the "Sanitarian," published in New 
York; Charasse's " Advice to Mothers"; Coombe's "Management of Infancy ;" 
the " Transactions of the American Public Health Association." published by Hurd 
& Houghton ; Professor Fonssagrive's book — " The Mother's Work with Sick Chil- 
dren ;" Miss Juliet Corson's books on "Nutritious and Economical Cookery j" 
Simon on " Filth Diseases." 



JOHN HABBERTON'S LAST AND BEST BOOK 

"MMB IMIIi N 

1 Vol., 8vo„ 500 i)p. f Handsomely Illustrated, Price - $$ 00, 
BBBBY BS&WMM@B» ^wmmtmrnm®, 

27 Park Place, New York. 

From the London Spectator, Sept. 15. 1877. — 

******** * 

We owe an invaluable addition to the literature of the gold camps to the wide- 
spread popularity of w Helen's Babies," a book which came just in 
time to correct the general impression that American humor was 
" played out." * * * * * * The literary lawlessness, the un- 
conventional air of easy talkativeness, the exuberant yet sly humor 
of this book, and its successor, " Other People's Children," combined with 
a peculiar vein of soft-hearted amiability, a peaceful permission of mastery 
to women and children essentially American, charmed everybody. Not 
one of us could do anything like these books ; they are as much out of our 
line as out of our power, as is amply proved by a silly imitation of them, 
which became waste paper immediately — but every one of us could enjoy 
them. SHU more thoroughly can every one of us enjoy " Some Folks," whose very 
motto, " There's as much difference in " some folks ' as ' anybody,' " is one of 
those quaint American sayings as characteristic as an Irish bull, and equal- 
ly indescribable. These digger stories might be told by " Toddie " him- 
self, grown-up, but with all his impishness unsubdued, his intolerable per- 
ception of theological difficulties undimmed, his devil-may-carishness de- 
veloped into the gigantic proportions of all things Californian, and his hu- 
mor, still chiefly stimulated by his stomach, finely touched to extraordinary 
dryness, subtlety, grimness, breadth, audacity, and exquisite affection of 
simplicity. * * * The soft-hearted amiability and submission to women 
which we have already remarked as peculiar to Americans turn up constant- 
ly in these stories, in the funniest association sometimes ; as, for instance, 
when the first " school-marm " arrives at Bottle Flat, a run on Yankee 
Sam's store sets in, his stock of white shirts, seven in number, become vis- 
able on manly forms, his pocket-combs and glasses give out, and he "pre- 
vents bloodshed over his only bottle of hair-oil by putting it up at a raffle, 
in forty chances, at an ounce a chance." One of the funniest and most painful 
stories within our knowledge is the story of " Blizzefs Wife." It is difficult to 
read that of " The Last Pike at Jaggefs Bend" because one must laugh until one 
aches, and hates oneself for doing it, * * all make up a novel and indefina- 
ble treat for the reader of this funniest of strange books. Since Bret Harte's 
succinct and cynical description of how the " chunk of old red sandstone " 
hit the disputant Professor " in the abdomen," and " the subsequent pro- 



ceedings interested him no more," there has been notlung like the story of the 
fight with knives in "First Prayer at Hanney's." * * * Billy is dj^ing and 
implores some one to pray ; andhere eomes one of the most painfully-humorous 
scenes within our knowledge, a seene in which this especial type of American hu- 
mor is exhibited in its perfection :— * * * The entire story is copied by 
the Spectator. 

The Athen^um, London, Sept. 8, 1877. — There is the making of a very 
popular book in " Some Folks." It is a collection of short pathetic and. 
humorous stories by the author of " Helen's Babies," and we may at once 
admit that we like these stories better than Mr. Hdbberton's longer sketches. 

There are various opinions amongst English readers on the subject of 
American humor and American pathos. But, comparing " Some Folks" with 
other books of the same class, it is impossible not to rank it amongst the best. 
* * * There is indeed considerable art, so far as there can be art with- 
out literary form, in the character sketches with which the book abounds. 
It would be difficult to select any one of the three-and-thirty stories as being bet- 
ter or more true to nature than the rest; but the dying miner, in " First Prayer 
at Hanney's," entreating some one to say a prayer for him, and finally ex- 
tracting comfort from a comical piece of irreverence volunteered by one of 
his companions, is a capital instance of the mixture of humor and sentiment 
which gives the whole book its tone. 

N. Y. Evening Post, Sept. 20, 1877. — Habberton's " Some Folks." — 
The large octavo volume of character sketches and short stories which Mr. 
John Habberton has put forth with the title " Some Folks," contains, with- 
out doubt, some of the best work that this popular writer has done. 
******** * 

Comparing them with similar productions, from other hands, we find them 
to be like Bret Harte's stories in their setting. * * * Mr. Harte is a 
literary artist who cares only for his art ; Mr. Habberton is a moralist to the 
bone, who never relinquishes a moral for an artistic purpose. * * * What- 
ever his theme is, he is, before all and above all, the advocate of right living and 
right doing as a better evidence of religion than any soundness of belief can 
be ; the advocate of liDerality as opposed to all narrowness ; the contemner 
of all manner of pharisaism and hypocrisy. His ideal man is the good Sa- 
maritan ; and his creed is that text in the Epistle of St. James which defines 
" pure religion and undefiled " to be " to visit the fatherless in their afflic- 
tion, and to keep himself unspotted from the world." Here, as elsewhere, 
Mr. Habberton has written fiction with a strong moral purpose, and to the 
extent that a strong moral purpose interferes with art he lacks art ; but the 
deficiency is abundantly atoned for, many readers will hold, by the excel- 
lence of the moral which has caused it. 

Where Agents are not Canvassing, this booh will be sent post-paid, on 
receipt of Price, by the Publishers, 



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